Asgard Agendas A Campers! story
by Neuropsych
Summary: (NOW FINISHED) The Asgard have their own destiny in mind for Shawn... (PG-13 for language that will definitely come out, and possibly some violence)
1. Default Chapter

Asgard Agendas... a Campers! story  
  
Author's Note: If you haven't read Aspirin, Ice Cream and Asgards, you absolutely have to before reading this, or you're going to be 'what?' 'what was that?' 'where did he learn that?' 'who let out the secret?' and stuff like that. We can't have that, so go read the other one first. If you HAVE read the other one – and hopefully Good Morning Campers! - then I hope you like this one and you should probably just keep reading.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of SG-1 or SGC people, places or items; I'm just borrowing them. I do, however, own Shawn and his folks  
  
Special Note: Thank you sk023 for the brilliant idea of using something from Washington to be Shawn's last name.  
  
~*~  
  
The Gate activated.  
  
"It's SG-1's code, Sir!"  
  
"Open the iris!"  
  
The metal shield that protected the SGC from unwanted intruders opened, and almost immediately four figures came tumbling through. Three lay still for a moment, catching their collected breath. The fourth rose immediately and began checking the others.  
  
"I'm all right, Teal'c," Jack said as the Jaffa reached down. The Colonel rolled over onto his back with a muffled curse, and then sat up, looking over at the rest of his team. Carter and Daniel were also beginning to sit up, and neither showed sign of serious injury.  
  
"What happened, Colonel?" Hammond asked, walking up to the edge of the ramp and looking down at the team.  
  
"Oh, the usual, Sir. Bad Goa'uld, lots of shooting, running and dodging."  
  
"The planet is apparently a Goa'uld controlled one, General Hammond."  
  
"Ya think?" Jack asked, reaching a hand up so Teal'c would help him to his feet. "They were thicker than bugs in a biker's teeth, Sir. I suggest we don't go back to ole PKA-098 again."  
  
"I second that," Daniel said, pushing himself to his feet as well. "I'm not sure how we got out of that one, but it was close."  
  
"We'll debrief in an hour," Hammond said. "Get to the infirmary, then get cleaned up."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
Teal'c reached down and pulled Carter to her feet as well, before Jack could, and the four of them walked out of the Gate room. A little bruised. A little battered. But very much alive. Again.  
  
~*~  
  
"It would be easier if we did not have to hide." The voice was almost pouting.  
  
"It is necessary."  
  
"Commander Thor is resting a lot of faith in one small human." This time the voice was a little uncertain.  
  
"He is. But I have met the boy. He could very well be our salvation as well."  
  
"Then we should be working with him. Not protecting the-"  
  
"It is the bargain that was made. The Asgard will keep their end of it." The voice was final, and the discussion ended.  
  
The two Asgard ships, still very much hidden from the eyes of the Goa'uld on the ground, rose out of the planet's atmosphere and headed back to their Destroyer. They would probably not end up on this planet again. If the Humans were foolish enough to return – which they undoubtedly were not – then they'd escape without the help of the Asgard.  
  
~*~  
  
It was well past his bedtime, but Shawn wasn't anywhere near ready to go to bed. He was sitting in his room, at his desk, playing on his computer. It was a gift from his parents for his tenth birthday, which had been only a week before. Shawn smiled, remembering how excited he'd been when he'd seen it there, all set up and ready when he'd woken up.  
  
"Greetings, Shawn."  
  
The boy flinched in surprise at the voice that suddenly came out of the new computer's speakers, but didn't scream as he had the first time Thor had decided to use his computer in his own way.  
  
"I wish you wouldn't do that," he complained, trying to get his heart out of his throat. "Why don't you give me some warning or something?"  
  
The small gray alien with the large eyes suddenly appeared on his computer's monitor. The Asgard had been more pleased to see the new computer than Shawn had been, since it gave them a very convenient means of communication with the boy. A means that they didn't have to worry about having discovered by the boy's mother on the few times she came into his room to clean or to get his laundry.  
  
"What would you like me to do?" Thor asked, curiously.  
  
"I don't know... a beep or something to let me know you're going to say something. Anything to warn me."  
  
"I will keep that in mind." Thor promised. "SG-1 has returned, safely. Just so you know."  
  
"It was a Goa'uld planet, then?"  
  
"As we knew it was."  
  
"You got them out okay?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good." He wondered if that meant they were going to have some down time. And if that meant he'd have a chance to spend some time with Jack.  
  
"Are you ready for your lesson?"  
  
"Yeah." 


	2. 02

Author's Note: This story isn't intended to be long, just so you all know! (Of course, I didn't intend Good Morning Campers to go over 20 chapter, so we'll have to wait and see)  
  
~*~  
  
It was late when Shawn finally crawled into his bed, and his mind was far too wound up for him to get any sleep right away. And he knew it. He'd been missing a lot of sleep lately. He lay under his blankets, thinking about the same thing he always thought of when he couldn't sleep. Jack.  
  
Jack was everything Shawn wanted to be. Not that Shawn didn't admire and love his father, but his father was an architect, and Shawn didn't have any desire to be that when he grew up. He did, however, want to be in the Air Force. And more importantly, he wanted to be in the SGC program. This was going to happen. He already had the appointment to the Air Force Academy; just as soon a he was big enough to go. The President himself had given him the paper, and it was kept in Jack's desk at his house, for safekeeping.  
  
First he'd go to the Academy, then he'd be officially in the Air Force, and then he'd join the SGC. That was his plan, anyways. He wasn't sure if it was the same plan everyone else had. But he knew what he wanted. He would do what Jack did.  
  
Of course, first he had to finish school. And as far as Shawn was concerned, school was boring. Not that Shawn didn't like it. He liked pretty much everything about it. He liked the teachers. Liked the principal. He had a group of kids that called him their friend, even though he really didn't hang out with them all that much. He even liked the food that was served in the cafeteria, even though he laughed along with the others whenever someone told a cafeteria food joke. All in all, if not for the fact that school was boring, Shawn would have been happy going there five days a week. But school held him back. He could have spent a lot more time learning other, far more important things, if only he didn't have to go to school.  
  
He was fairly certain his teachers would have flipped if any of them knew what he actually knew. They probably didn't think he really pay attention in school – which was true – and maybe a couple thought he was lazy – which wasn't true – but whenever they called on him for an answer, he always knew it. That was part of the deal. He'd learn all about the Asgard, and the Goa'uld, and anything else they wanted him to learn, but he'd insisted on learning English in the same manner he'd learned Asgard and Goa'uld, which meant that he knew the language far better than any of the other kids, and most of the teachers.  
  
Knowing the language and understanding the words made learning a lot easier, and Shawn had tore through all his schoolbooks well ahead of the other kids in his class. It was easy when the Asgard were right there to tutor him in math and the sciences. They knew that if he fell behind in a subject, people were going to start asking why, and start looking for a reason. And more than anyone, the Asgard didn't want Shawn's secret lessons out in the open.  
  
Shawn sighed. He didn't want to keep secrets. He wanted to help. But he and Jack had been over that before. Many times. Shawn wasn't old enough to be an actual part of the SGC; he wasn't old enough to understand what was going on around him. He just wasn't old enough. And there was only one cure for being too young. So Shawn waited, and he learned, and he helped where he could, even though Jack would never know the help he and his team were getting. Some day, he kept telling himself, he'd be able to help more openly.  
  
He was still thinking it as he fell asleep.  
  
~*~  
  
The Gate flared, and to everyone's amazement, the iris didn't close.  
  
"Close the iris!" Hammond ordered.  
  
"It won't close, Sir."  
  
"It's not working, Sir," Carter confirmed, looking over the Sergeant's shoulder.  
  
"Security teams. Post!"  
  
Armed men gathered in the Gate room, rifles up and pointing at the event horizon. Men and women manned machine guns behind metal guards, all tense and waiting.  
  
A lone figure walked through the gate, then, calmly looking around.  
  
"That's Thor." O'Neill said, wondering why he hadn't just beamed him up.  
  
"Stand down," Hammond ordered as he started for the door. The security teams all lowered their weapons.  
  
SG-1 followed, and the five of them walked into the embarkation room and headed to the ramp, where the little alien had stopped and waited for them.  
  
"Thor!" Jack said, smiling. "Let me guess. You were in the neighborhood, and thought you'd stop in for some coffee?"  
  
"I am not here for coffee, Colonel O'Neill." The alien said seriously.  
  
Sam smiled; she didn't know why the Colonel bothered telling jokes. Thor never got them, anyways.  
  
"What are you here for, then, Thor?" General Hammond asked.  
  
"We have a situation, General Hammond. One we are not sure how to deal with, and one that is very disturbing both for the Asgard, and for your people."  
  
"I don't feel disturbed," Jack said, looking at Teal'c and Daniel to see if they were disturbed. Hammond gave O'Neill a look that plainly told him to hush, and Jack gave him an innocent 'what did I say?' look, but he fell quiet.  
  
"What's the situation, Thor?" Hammond asked. "How can we help?"  
  
Thor turned more to O'Neill than to Hammond, knowing this was where the reaction was going to come from.  
  
"We have lost Shawn." 


	3. 03

There was a silence in the Gate room for one short moment that seemed an eternity to those who were there watching the Asgard standing in front of SG-1 and Hammond.  
  
"Please tell me that Shawn is the name of a ship you've misplaced." Jack said, finally, every muscle in his body tense, and a sudden dangerous gleam in his brown eyes.  
  
"It is not."  
  
"Our Shawn?" Carter asked, stepping up beside Jack.  
  
"Our Shawn who is ten years old and should be home sleeping in his bed right now?" Daniel asked, also stepping forward to stand on the other side of Jack.  
  
"Correct."  
  
"WHAT?" The calm didn't last long. Everyone in the room but Thor and Teal'c jumped at the sound of O'Neill's voice. Not so much because it had startled them, but because there was only fury and disbelief in it. "What do you mean YOU LOST HIM? What were you doing with him in the first-"  
  
"Colonel!" Hammond cut him off, but the anger that was in the General's voice was directed at Thor as well. "Thor? Maybe you'd better explain this from the beginning."  
  
He looked at the assembled military personnel and saw a tenseness in all of them that he didn't like. Not just from the members of SG-1, either. Most of the people in the room knew who Shawn was, after all. There weren't a lot of little kids running around the SGC, so he was fairly easy to notice. It was obvious that the Asgard's statement wasn't well received by these folks, either, and they were holding weapons.  
  
"In the briefing room."  
  
Thor nodded, and Hammond turned and led the way out of the room. Thor followed, but SG-1 didn't. Not right away. Jack was so angry he wasn't even sure he could move. He just stared as the door closed behind Thor.  
  
"I'm sure there's a logical-"  
  
"Oh, there'd better be, Daniel."  
  
"What on Earth were-"  
  
"This is not good."  
  
"Colonel!"  
  
"Coming, Sir."  
  
~*~  
  
They were seated at the briefing table. Well, most of them were. Carter was flanked by Teal'c and Daniel, and the three were seated completely on the opposite end of the table, which was fine with Hammond, since it placed a fair amount of space between the Asgard and the serious looking group. Jack hadn't even bothered to pretend to want to sit. He was pacing already, and Thor hadn't even started explaining. Hammond didn't try to order him to be seated. As agitated as O'Neill was, it was better to keep him on his feet.  
  
"What happened, Thor?" Hammond asked.  
  
"From the beginning," Jack interjected. "I want to know exactly what the he- "  
  
"Colonel!"  
  
Jack quieted, but he didn't back down.  
  
Thor sighed.  
  
"Soon after our return from transplanting the Pe'aoli, I contacted the boy."  
  
"For what purpose?" Teal'c asked. His voice was calm, but those that knew him well knew it was calmest when he was at his most serious. Which was also when he was at his most dangerous.  
  
"The boy could very well be the key to ultimately winning the war with the Goa'uld." Thor said. "If given enough training at an early-"  
  
"I TOLD YOU WE DON'T USE OUR CHILDREN LIKE THAT!" Jack had heard enough. Had already heard this, as a mater of fact. And had told Thor to butt out. "We-"  
  
"Colonel!" Hammond was tired of having Jack shouting in his ear, and needed more information from the Asgard about the boy. "Another word and you'll be gone. Understand?"  
  
Jack fumed, but visibly clamped his jaws shut, although if looks could kill Thor would have long been fried.  
  
Hammond waited just long enough to make sure O'Neill wasn't going to say anything further, then turned back to the Asgard.  
  
"What were you doing?"  
  
"We were teaching him. Languages, Sciences, Math, History, for the most part. He wanted more. In exchange for learning what we wanted him to learn, he made requests of his own."  
  
"Such as?" Carter asked.  
  
"Such as learning to fly on our simulators. And he required the Asgard keep an eye on Colonel O'Neill and SG-1."  
  
"You're kidding."  
  
"No, Doctor Jackson." Thor's voice was very calm as the little alien turned to Daniel. "In exchange for what we wanted, Shawn insisted that we learn in advance where SG-1 was going on their missions, and keep you safe."  
  
"How exactly did you do that?" Hammond asked, as Carter turned to see what O'Neill's reaction was to that little bit of information. Jack's face was a stony mask, but his eyes were telling another story completely.  
  
"Your computer is hardly complicated. We merely found the location you were going, and sent a ship there to watch the proceedings. If nothing endangered you, you were left alone. If trouble ensued, the Asgard watching would take care of it without you noticing."  
  
"That's crazy!" Daniel said. "That's the dumbes-"  
  
"Where's Shawn?" Hammond asked.  
  
"We do not know. He was in one of the Attack Ships, attempting his first flight away from the simulator, and somehow activated the hyper drives. Before we realized what had happened and could lock onto him, he was gone."  
  
"He couldn't have went that far-"  
  
"Incorrect, Major." Thor said. "Our Attack Ships have long range capabilities. The Asgard cover a lot of space, and one of the best and most preferred methods are in the Attack Ships due to their long-range abilities. We've searched for him for hours with sensors, scanners and ships, and have not found him."  
  
"He could be anywhere, then?" Jack asked.  
  
"Correct."  
  
"What about life support?" Teal'c asked.  
  
"As long as nothing has been damaged, he has enough life support and power to last him weeks. The life support is an automated system, so he would not need to know how to use it. Which is good, since we are certain he does not."  
  
"Navigation?" Asked Daniel.  
  
"Don't you have an automatic pilot?" Jack asked, frustrated.  
  
"The ship can be automated, yes. However, in order to bring you back to a position using the feature, you must input the coordinates, and we do not believe the boy knows how to do this."  
  
"So, he's lost. Somewhere in space. With no food. No water, and no way to get himself back?"  
  
"What can we do?" Hammond asked.  
  
"There is little you can do," Thor said. "We are still searching for him. For obvious reasons, you needed to be informed."  
  
"Oh, my God." Carter realized. "What about his parents?"  
  
"Do they know about this?" Jack asked, his voice still furious, but other emotions vying to escape as well.  
  
"They do not."  
  
"And they can't," Hammond said, turning to O'Neill. "Jack. You know them best. Go talk to them."  
  
"And tell them what, Sir?" Jack asked, his anger overriding his good senses. "Sorry Dotty and James, but we let some aliens mess around with your son and they've managed to LOSE HIM? Don't worry, though, we'll just keep searching the universe and hope that we find him before he starves to death? Or worse, is captured by the Goa'uld?" 


	4. 04

Author's Note: This one is really short... (but it's necessary) sorry!  
  
~*~  
  
"That would be very unfortunate," Thor agreed.  
  
"UNFORTUNATE?" Hammond had finally lost his own temper. "It would be a lot more than unfortunate, Thor! Jack's right. We DON"T use our children! We certainly don't use the children of others to further our own agendas."  
  
"Our Agenda is similar to your own, General Hammond. The Asgard want the Goa'uld stopped as much as-"  
  
"I don't give a flying fu-"  
  
"Colonel O'Neill." Hammond interrupted again, but this time it wasn't a reprimand. "We have to assume that the Asgard aren't going to find Shawn before daylight. Obviously. I want you and Major Carter to go to his home and speak with his parents."  
  
"What do I tell them?"  
  
"Think of something. You know them best, so you know better than I do what they will and won't accept."  
  
"Think of something?" Jack shook his head and started to say something else, but Carter stood up, distracting him.  
  
"Yes, Sir. We'll get right on that."  
  
Hammond nodded, and turned to Teal'c and Daniel.  
  
"You two get in touch with the Tok'ra. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll find him on a routine flight. Who knows?"  
  
"There is one more thing," Thor said. Everyone turned back to look at him.  
  
"There's more?" Jack asked.  
  
"Shawn knows about the Stargate."  
  
"Yes, we know that." Hammond said.  
  
"Thanks to you," Jack added.  
  
"Yes. It is entirely possible that if he has crashed-"  
  
"CRASHED?"  
  
"-then he may attempt to go through the Stargate."  
  
"He knows our address?" Hammond asked.  
  
"Correct. It is the only one he knows. But it is entirely possible that if he finds himself on a planet, he may look for a Stargate and attempt to use it."  
  
"Oh, God..." It was just getting worse and worse.  
  
Hammond stood up. "We'll be ready on the chance that he does."  
  
"Good. I am going to return to my ship." Thor handed Hammond a communication device. "If we find him, we will let you know. If he comes through your Stargate, or if you have any further questions for us, please contact me with this."  
  
"We will."  
  
The Asgard disappeared.  
  
"Jack." Hammond turned to O'Neill, who was still fuming. "Come up with something good, okay? I don't want his parents to worry any more than they have to."  
  
"We will, Sir." Jack was in complete agreement. "Come on, Carter." 


	5. 05

Oh yeah, this was bad.  
  
Shawn didn't have a clue where he was. Even worse, he didn't have a clue where the Asgard were, either. His first flight had certainly become a fiasco in every form of the word. And thanks to the Asgard, Shawn KNEW every form of the word.  
  
He tapped the controls of his Attacker, wondering once again what in the world he was going to do. Going into hyperspace hadn't been on purpose. The button was blinking and he'd pressed it without thinking. They should have known better than to put a blinking button someplace close to where it could be touched. Everyone knew if you saw a blinking button you touched it!  
  
It had taken Shawn a while to figure out the hyper drive. He'd seen it on the simulator, and knew what it did, but since they hadn't planned on him actually going into hyperspace, they had yet to show him exactly how to use it. Finally, when he did manage to get out of hyperspace, he realized that he was way off course. Considering the course was only supposed to take him around Saturn. He didn't see any planets with rings. He didn't see any planets, period.  
  
The boy tried to stay calm. Getting upset and bawling wasn't going to help him any, and he knew it. He turned the ship around, figuring that if he just went back the way he came, he'd find his way back. Then the proximity alarms went off, and Shawn felt a glad wave of relief wash through him. Thor must have come looking for him. He turned his head, looking to see where the other ship was.  
  
"Kree!"  
  
"Oh Shit!" Shawn clapped his hand over his mouth, well aware that he wasn't supposed to even know the word that had just popped out of his mouth. It was a reflexive motion, though, and he dropped his hand a second later. No one was around to care what he said. He looked around wildly, and saw the large hull of a Goa'uld vessel approaching. A Ha'tak. He knew that the ship he was in didn't have a chance against the Goa'uld ship. Sure, he had some weaponry. Impressive weaponry. But the Ha'tak was carrying a fleet of ships that were just as good as the one he was in. He was in a lot of trouble, and he knew it.  
  
"Rhe'u!" Shawn said, thumbing the communications toggle. "Stay back!" His Goa'uld was perfect, even if his voice was high pitched and terrified.  
  
"Di'dak'didi!?" The voice was incensed, even though it was laced with surprise. "You dare?"  
  
Shawn didn't get the ship in the position he wanted it in, but he didn't have the guts to stick around long enough to get turned around completely. Any minute now, the Goa'uld in that ship were going to get over their shock and come after him, and he knew they weren't going to get much of a struggle. Even less if they just wanted to shoot him down. He thumbed the hyper drive switch and pressed it, hoping he had enough space that he wasn't going to end up splattered against the hull of the Goa'uld ship. As the stars faded into streaks, he gave a terrified squeak of relief, and wondered if he really had the guts to be a member of the SGC.  
  
~*~  
  
"Any clue what we're going to tell them, Jack?" Sam asked, softly. They were in her car, driving to Shawn's house, and O'Neill hadn't said more than two words to her since they'd left Cheyenne Mountain.  
  
"Hmmm?" He looked over at her. Then realized what she said, and shook his head. "No."  
  
"We could tell them that he ran away?"  
  
"He wouldn't run away."  
  
"I know."  
  
"They know that, too."  
  
"We could tell them that he's sick and we needed to take –"  
  
"Nah, because he doesn't look sick. And they'd be worried they had whatever he had. Plus they'd want to see him immediately." He sighed. "I know I would."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"There's no reason for you to be, Sam," Jack said, softly. "This isn't-"He stopped as an idea came to him. One that might work. Well, it'd work better than the run away idea would, anyways. He started to explain it to Carter.  
  
~*~  
  
"Jack?" James Adams was rumpled and looking very much like he'd just been woken up. Which he had. Jack smiled at the man, a truly forced smile, but one that was completely necessary.  
  
"Hi, James. Sorry to wake you up."  
  
"It's okay. Is everything all right?" He saw Carter coming up the sidewalk and gave her a smile.  
  
"Hi, Sam."  
  
"Hi, James. How are you?" Turning to O'Neill before Shawn's dad could answer, she nodded. "They got him, Sir."  
  
"Well done, Carter."  
  
"Got who?" James asked, thoroughly confused.  
  
"Well... it's a little complicated," Jack said, grinning. Again, it was forced, but again, completely and utterly necessary. "Can Sam and I come in for a second?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Dotty met them in the living room, still putting her robe on, and Jack gave her a smile as well.  
  
"Hi, Dotty. Sorry to disturb you."  
  
"Hi Jack. Hello, Sam."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Do you need Shawn?"  
  
Jack shook his head. "Actually, we already have him."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well," Sam took over. "Shawn was asking us last weekend about just how good the Black Ops guys in the Military were. And when we told him that they could do anything, he practically dared us to prove it."  
  
"So, tonight, we thought we would."  
  
"Your Black Ops guys were here?" James asked, slightly confused.  
  
"They were. They snuck into Shawn's room and kidnapped him." Jack grinned. "We didn't want to tell you, because we were worried you might have given it away without meaning to. You know how good Shawn is at picking up on that kind of thing."  
  
"Yeah, he is," James agreed, smiling slightly. This was definitely something he could see Shawn loving. "Your guys didn't hurt him, did they?"  
  
"Nah, you know me better than that."  
  
"Where is he, Jack?" Dotty asked, slightly concerned that her baby wasn't in the house where he belonged.  
  
"Sam?"  
  
Carter grinned. "He's on his way to the base. We were hoping that you and James would let us keep him for the weekend? Maybe show him around? Take him up on another helicopter ride?"  
  
"Sam and I didn't really get much of a chance to spend time with him on his birthday," Jack explained. "We'd like to make it up to him. You know, give him a taste of Military life."  
  
"But it's a school night..."  
  
"It was the only night the guys were available." Jack said, trying to sound slightly disappointed.  
  
"Aw, one day of missed school won't kill him," James told his wife. "It isn't like he's behind."  
  
"Well..."  
  
"Great!" Jack smiled, and rubbed his hands together. "We need to get to the base and make sure he's being treated like a VIP. If you'd like, I'll have him call you later?"  
  
"I'd like that, but he wouldn't," Dotty said, smiling slightly. She knew her son would thoroughly enjoy the weekend Jack had in mind for him, and she didn't want to interfere. Besides, he was doing well in school, and a missed day wouldn't hurt him at all. She could always help him catch up if it was something important. "I'll call the school and arrange his absence in the morning."  
  
"Thanks, Dotty," Sam said, turning to go. "We'll take good care of him."  
  
"I know you will, Sam. I'd trust Jack with Shawn's life."  
  
Jack left without another word, unable to say anything in reply to that. Sam covered for it, though, keeping the cheerful smile on her face until they were back in her car. 


	6. 06

"Any news?"  
  
Hammond shook his head. "How'd it go with the parents?"  
  
"It went well, Sir," Carter said. "His parents think we have him for the weekend, showing him the base."  
  
"Good thinking, Major."  
  
"It was Colonel O'Neill's idea, Sir."  
  
"Well done, Jack."  
  
"Yeah. I should get a medal for my lying abilities." The bitterness in Jack's voice was unmistakable. He turned and left the room, heading for his office.  
  
Hammond looked at Carter, and Sam shook her head and told the General about the conversation with Shawn's parents. The General nodded his understanding.  
  
"There's nothing we can do but wait," Hammond said.  
  
"I know, Sir." Sam replied. "Did you get a hold of the Tok'ra?"  
  
"Yes, they pretty much gave the same reaction we did to the situation, but said they'd let us know if they have any news." Neither of them needed to say that there wasn't much hope of the Tok'ra finding the boy, though. They weren't that spread out, after all.  
  
"I wish there was something we could do."  
  
"So do I, Major. Doctor Jackson and Teal'c are in Doctor Jackson's office."  
  
"Thank you, Sir. You'll call if you-"  
  
"I'll call the minute I hear anything."  
  
She turned and left.  
  
~*~  
  
He didn't know how far away was far enough away. Or perhaps he was just too terrified to come out of hyperspace and find another Goa'uld ship waiting for him. Whatever it was, it took a lot of arguing with himself for Shawn to turn off the hyper drive, and when he finally thumbed the control, it was still with a great deal of trepidation.  
  
The proximity alarms went off immediately, and Shawn whimpered and looked around for the ship. There wasn't a ship this time. It was a planet. But not one of the few he could have recognized just by looking at them. It was blue and white, kind of like Earth, but it didn't have any of the familiar landmasses on it. He looked down at the controls of the ship, knowing that he had sensors that could tell him more about the planet, he just wasn't exactly sure how to use them. Damn. So much technology at his fingertips and he didn't have a damned clue how to use it all!  
  
Eventually he decided he had to try. After all, what was the worst that could happen? He pressed a button on the control panel, hoping that since it was labeled 'sensors' it meant external sensors and not just the ones that controlled the proximity alarms. An image of the planet appeared on his heads-up display, and Shawn gave a sigh of relief, but knew the battle wasn't won yet. He continued pressing buttons, hoping to be able to figure out how to run the thing before he was discovered.  
  
~*~  
  
"Jack?"  
  
O'Neill was sitting at his desk, but his back was to the door so he didn't actually see when the rest of SG-1 walked into his office.  
  
"You forget how to knock, Daniel?"  
  
"No. I just didn't do it."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"Just... um... checking on you. How are you holding up?"  
  
"Everything's peachy."  
  
"O'Neill-"  
  
"It's okay, Teal'c," Jack said. It was obvious in the tone of his voice, though, that everything wasn't okay at all.  
  
"Sir."  
  
"Jack, Sam."  
  
"Jack."  
  
"I lied to his folks."  
  
"I know."  
  
"They have three days of bliss before I have to admit to them that I don't have a clue where their son actually is."  
  
"He's resourceful. Don't give up on him."  
  
"He's ten, Carter."  
  
"Sam, Jack."  
  
"Sam."  
  
"He's not as helpless as you might think, Jack." Daniel said. "God knows he's managed to get the Asgard to do what he wants for who knows how long?"  
  
"Look where that got him, huh?"  
  
Daniel looked at Carter helplessly. She just shrugged. There really wasn't any reaching him when he got like this, and Sam knew it.  
  
"We're going to go get something to eat, Sir-Jack. We'll be back in a bit."  
  
"You do that."  
  
She gestured for the others to follow her out and left him alone to brood. 


	7. 07

Shawn was getting pretty desperate. Not that he hadn't been desperate before, but things were getting worse and worse as far as he was concerned. He looked at the watch that Daniel had given him for his birthday and decided he'd been in the ship for about eight hours, and lost for the majority of that time. He'd had no luck with the sensors on the ship. They'd told him that the planet had a fairly earth-like atmosphere, but that was about it. And he only knew that because he knew what the Earth's atmosphere was made of, so he'd recognized the same elements when they flashed on the heads-up. He didn't know if there were people down there. Or Goa'uld. Or a Stargate, which he was beginning to think may be his best bet for getting home. But the worst of it was, Shawn really had to pee, and holding it was starting to be painful.  
  
He was going to have to decide sooner or later – sooner, really – if he was going to try landing on this planet, or not. And he wasn't actually all that certain that he could land the thing without crashing. He was pretty sure he could. He'd done that on the simulator enough times.  
  
He decided that he'd go down and do a low-level flight over the planet. If there were people on the planet, he could avoid them seeing him by using the cloaking device, which he DID know how to employ. And if there were Goa'uld, he'd be able to avoid them as well, and know that it wasn't a place to stop. Not even to pee.  
  
The boy nodded, although there wasn't anyone around to see the motion, and took a deep breath. Reentry wasn't such a big deal in an Asgard ship, except that it was the first time Shawn had done it, which made it a bit spooky. He angled the ship properly; and felt the beginnings of turbulence. He knew from the lessons he'd been taking with the Asgard that the forces outside his Attacker should be ripping the craft to pieces and burning it up, but the shields and the aerodynamics of the craft were so well balanced that all Shawn really had to do was keep the nose up a bit and make sure that his shields were actually engaged. Which he'd done immediately. This was the only time he'd be exposed, since the cloaking device couldn't hide the heat signature of reentry, so he tried to angle his descent as sharply as he dared, hoping to go down as swiftly as possible.  
  
~*~  
  
"This isn't your fault, you know?"  
  
Jack looked up and saw that Carter had entered his office without him noticing.  
  
"Did you draw the short straw?"  
  
Sam shook her head. "Daniel did, but I took pity on him."  
  
Jack sighed. "You shouldn't have bothered. I know it's not my fault. Well, most of it isn't anyways. It's Thor's fault."  
  
"Then why are you-"  
  
"Sitting in here? What do you call it? Brooding?"  
  
Sam nodded.  
  
"What am I supposed to do, Sam? I can't go look for him. The Asgard can't find him, I'm certainly not going to be able to climb into an F-15 or a Stealth and go find him. If I knew where he was, I'd go get him."  
  
"I know."  
  
"A million things could have happened to him."  
  
"I know."  
  
"If the Goa'uld-"  
  
"They won't."  
  
"You don't know that."  
  
"I have to believe it."  
  
The door opened again, and Daniel and Teal'c came in.  
  
"Damn it, Daniel. Knock first-"  
  
"You don't knock on my door."  
  
"Oh..." Jack sighed. He just didn't have the heart to have one of those conversations with Daniel just then. No matter how much fun they normally were. "Fine. Come in."  
  
He and Teal'c came and sat in the chairs by O'Neill's desk. Brand new chairs, since no one ever came to O'Neill's office. Sam was sitting on the edge of his desk.  
  
"You know..." Daniel said softly, more to break the silence. "You gotta wonder just what the Asgard were trying to train Shawn to do."  
  
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.  
  
"Anyone can learn to pilot an Attacker," Daniel said. "One pilot isn't going to make much difference as far as the battle with the Goa'uld is concerned. What else do they want from him?"  
  
Jack's eyes went speculative.  
  
"Good point. What did Thor say they were teaching him, Carter?" He hadn't been really listening, but he knew Sam had.  
  
"Languages, Science, Math and History." Carter replied after a moment's thought.  
  
Jack couldn't see anything in the four that might have something to do with an Asgard agenda that had nothing to do with the Goa'uld. Of course, he didn't really expect to. But he was hoping one of the others would, and they were all coming up blank, too.  
  
"We could simply ask," Teal'c suggested after a few silent minutes.  
  
"They wouldn't tell us." Jack said, scowling. "If they wanted us to know, they would have come out and said it already." He tapped his finger on the desk, absently. "I'm going to find out, though. Once we get Shawn back."  
  
Sam nodded. Jack hadn't completely given up on the boy. That was good. 


	8. 08

There weren't any Goa'uld. Not that Shawn could tell, anyways. There weren't any people at all. At least, he hadn't seen any on the two trips he'd made around the planet. There HAD been people, because he'd flown the Attacker right over some ruins, and had seen evidence of other ruins in other locations. Too far away to really tell what they were without going and looking, and Shawn had to pee so badly by then that he wasn't thinking about anything but. He certainly wasn't thinking about exploring.  
  
"Once more around the place," he told himself. "Then I'm going to have to set it down."  
  
He went around again, this time following the longitude of the planet instead of the equator, and something caught his eye off to his right as he passed the middle areas of the main land mass. He veered off, turning the ship that direction, and found himself flying over yet another ruin, although this one was the biggest of those that he'd seen. There were even a few buildings that were intact – they had roofs, anyways – although they looked ratty and pockmarked. There was even water close by, which made Shawn suddenly aware of just how thirsty he was. This was where he was going to sit down, he decided.  
  
~*~  
  
The Gate flared.  
  
"Keep the iris open! Security teams. Post!"  
  
They had no choice. Hammond didn't know who was coming through, but on the off chance it was the boy, he couldn't close the iris.  
  
"Receiving Tok'ra IDC, Sir."  
  
Hammond nodded, but the iris was already open, so he didn't have to tell them to open it. There was a disturbance at the entrance to the Command center and the General looked over to see SG-1 come rushing in, hope on each of their faces.  
  
"It's the Tok'ra," Hammond told them.  
  
"Oh."  
  
Jack led his team down to the Embarkation room, and they arrived just as Jacob Carter emerged from the Gate. The Tok'ra stopped at the top of the ramp just long enough to be properly identified by the security teams and by Hammond, who ordered them to stand down, and then he walked down the ramp to his daughter and the others.  
  
"Hi Sam," Jacob said, smiling. He was always glad to see her, well aware that he was living on time he never should have had. It made his relationship with Sam far more intense than it ever had been before he'd Blended.  
  
"Hi, dad." Carter hugged her father, and if Jacob noticed that she squeezed him just a little tighter than normal, who was he to complain?  
  
"Jacob. How are you?"  
  
"Hi, Jack. Doing good, thanks."  
  
He noticed O'Neill was looking a lot more tense than was normal. Even for Jack. But Jacob had news that might cheer him up. Well, a little, maybe. Maybe not.  
  
"I have some information that might pertain to your missing boy."  
  
Everyone was instantly alert, and Jacob would have grinned, if he hadn't been so aware of just how upset they all were.  
  
"What do you know?" Jack asked as Hammond entered the room, coming down from the Command center.  
  
"An operative on a Goa'uld ship informed us about ten minutes ago that a few hours ago they had an odd altercation with an Asgard Attacker. Apparently, it came out of hyperspace right in front of them, they challenged it, and it took off again immediately. The operative says that the voice he heard over the intercom didn't sound at all Asgard, and sounded more than a little hysterical. It sounds like it could have been your boy, except this person spoke perfect Goa'uld, and I –"  
  
"He speaks Goa'uld," Daniel interrupted.  
  
"Fluently." Teal'c confirmed.  
  
"Then it's probably him."  
  
"What happened to him?" Jack asked.  
  
"He took off before they could shoot him down. Which was what they were going to do. The order had been given, but our operative was the one at the weapons, and he hesitated."  
  
"Thanks God," Carter said, breathing a sigh of relief.  
  
"So? Can we find him?" Jack asked.  
  
"The Goa'uld are looking for him." Jacob replied. "They haven't found him yet, though, and it's unlikely they will. Like I said, he jumped back into hyperspace, and vanished."  
  
"At least we know he's alive." Hammond said.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well, I'm going to get back," Jacob said. "I just thought you'd want to-"  
  
"We appreciate it, Jacob," Jack said, reaching his hand out.  
  
"If I hear anything else, you'll be the first to know," The Tok'ra promised, shaking the Colonel's hand. 


	9. 09

Author's Note: This story isn't actually set in any particular season, but it's pre Jonas, and Teal'c has Junior, so it's relatively early on, I suppose. (Obviously, it's after Jacob blended with Selmac) Mainly because I like Jacob, and wanted to bring him in – and will whenever I can  
  
~*~  
  
Jack had once told him that a good landing was one you could walk away from. Shawn decided that if that was the only standard he had to go by, then his landing had been perfect. He hadn't landed the Attacker more than he'd controlled the crash, but it wasn't so bad for his first attempt. And he'd managed to walk away, more or les unhurt.  
  
The inertia dampeners had cushioned most of the blow when he'd misjudged the distance to the ground and had shut off the thrusters to soon, dropping the craft the last two hundred feet, and the panel that his forehead had bumped hadn't been jagged, luckily, or he could have killed himself instead of just cutting his head open. He'd popped the canopy of the Attacker, bleeding and more than a little bruised, but it could have been much worse. If he got home, though, he was going to ask Thor why Asgard ships didn't have seatbelts.  
  
He was more than a little self-conscious about peeing out in the open, but he had to go so bad by then that looking for someplace else wasn't an option. Then once that very urgent need out of the way, Shawn held his hand to his bloody forehead and limped to the large group of ruins.  
  
They were scattered, as he'd known they would be. He got as far as the first set, and a wave of dizziness overtook him, probably from walking after being on his butt for so long, he decided. Whatever the reason, he allowed himself to slide to the floor of the ruins, leaning his back against the cool wall with a sigh. Before he could start to feel lonely and scared, however, everything went black.  
  
~*~  
  
Hammond relayed the Tok'ra's information to Thor, who relayed it to the Asgard that were out looking for the boy. The information didn't really give them all that much to work with, but it was a sign that Shawn hadn't crashed and burned somewhere, and that he was still alive, and that was far better than the alternatives.  
  
Hammond had thought that O'Neill could relay the information, as a way to get the Colonel talking to the Asgard, but Jack's face had gone so stony at the very mention of the Asgard, Hammond had done it himself. No sense forcing something like that. O'Neill and the rest of SG-1 stayed close to the Command center for the next couple of hours, hoping to hear more good news, but there was no further detection of the craft, or the boy. At least, there were none by the Tok'ra. They only hoped that there weren't any by the Goa'uld, either.  
  
SG-5 had been scheduled for a mission. Because they had to keep the iris open, the mission was cancelled. They didn't want to run the risk of pissing someone off and being chased back through the Stargate, bringing back who knew what? It was all they could do. That and wait.  
  
"I wish we at least had an idea of where to look for him," Daniel said as SG-1 walked down the corridor towards the Commissary. Hammond had ordered them all out of the Command center unless something came up. O'Neill's gloomy face was bad enough, but Teal'c was downright nerve-racking to the people who were trying to go about their daily routines. The sun had been up for sometime by then, so Hammond has ordered them all to get something to eat, although the General himself stayed where he was.  
  
"I know," Jack said. "You'd think the Asgard would put some kind of tracking thing on their ships. In case something like this happens."  
  
"I do not believe this type of situation occurs often." Teal'c said. "The Asgard seem as uncertain of what to do as the rest of us."  
  
"If they would have minded their own damned business in the first place, none of this would have happened."  
  
They all agreed with that, so none of them even bothered to do more than nod, and it was a somber, almost angry group that walked into the Commissary and gathered breakfast.  
  
"I've been thinking," Carter said, as she sat down at the table with a tray that held a banana and a muffin.  
  
"About?"  
  
"Even if Shawn does manage to find a planet with a Stargate, how is he going to dial home? He'd need to know the symbol for the planet he was on so he could have his origin."  
  
Jack looked at Daniel for confirmation.  
  
"I didn't think about that," Daniel said, bleakly. "The Asgard say he's familiar with the address for our Stargate, which would be his destination, but he'd still need that point of origin to plot the course. Sam's right."  
  
"The symbols are usually found near the dialing device," Teal'c said.  
  
"True. We know that. Hopefully he knows that as well."  
  
"If he manages to find a planet with a Gate on it that isn't populated with a million Goa'uld or Jaffa. And if he manages to land the Attacker without killing himself." Jack said, glumly. "That's a lot of ifs."  
  
"Have faith, Sir."  
  
Jack didn't answer that. 


	10. 10

It was dark when Shawn opened his eyes. He lay still, trying to figure out where he was. His head was pounding so badly that he was having trouble focusing his thoughts, much less his eyes. It took him far longer than it should have to realize that the sun had gone down, and it was nighttime on the planet. He sat up, whimpering softly at the increasing throbbing in his head, and realized that to make matters even worse, it was raining. Hard.  
  
The rain was cold, and he was only wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and he'd been soaked before he even woke up. Now that he was more aware of what was going on around him, and of his own situation, he realized he was pretty cold. And thirsty. And hungry. And his head was going to fall off at any minute.  
  
He had to get out of the rain. That much was obvious, even to him. He struggled to get to his feet, and whimpered again. He'd sprained his ankle when he'd slid down the attacker's fuselage to the ground, and was only just now realizing it. Leaning heavily against the wall, he staggered along it, hoping to find one of the buildings that still had a ceiling on it. He wasn't afraid of a ceiling falling on him, although if he'd thought it through he might have been. He just wanted out of the rain. Away from the cold. He tripped over something in the dark – most likely a rock or piece of rubble, and fell, but got right back up. Walking, even though it hurt, was warming him up a little.  
  
Tripping and stumbling countless times in the dark, Shawn came to an opening in the ruin and tried to see what was beyond it. In the darkness all he could see was a looming form, maybe a wall... maybe something else. He didn't know. But it gave him a goal, and that was the direction he headed. Never had he wished more for a flashlight. Never had he feared the dark as much as he did then. The rain made loud splatting noises on the stone around him, and softer thumping noises on the grass that was outside the ruins. He couldn't really hear either over the booming in his own head.  
  
He reached his goal, and found it was another wall, which he sagged against gratefully. He looked up, catching some of the rain in his mouth. Rain that had seemed to be coming down so hard only a moment before now wasn't coming down hard enough to satisfy him. He barely had enough touch his tongue to relieve the parched tissue, and definitely didn't get enough to slake his thirst. Shivering, still, he forced himself to continue walking. He needed to get out of the rain more than he needed a drink.  
  
"Jack!"  
  
He called for help, but even as he called frantically, he knew help wasn't coming. Jack wasn't here. He was on Earth. Shawn choked back a sob, and forced himself onward, looking for a way into the ruin in the dark, feeling his way along the water-slick wall.  
  
"Jack!"  
  
He stumbled and fell. Inward. Shawn lay still, sobbing and trying to catch his breath at the same time. He felt the rain on his legs but not on his back, and somewhere in his mind he knew that he had found a roof to protect him. He dragged his feet inside, and curled against the wall, shivering and crying, finally breaking down and losing any semblance of the control that had managed to get him this far.  
  
"Jack!"  
  
~*~  
  
"Jack?"  
  
O'Neill looked up. He was once again in his office, and again surrounded by the rest of his team. It was well into the afternoon, and none of them had had any sleep for well over a day, but none would leave. They stayed close to the Command center. Waiting. Sam and Daniel had the chairs by Jack's desk. Daniel was looking glumly through the binder that Shawn had sent him only a few months before, pretending to be studying the language, but really just looking at the handwriting. The sloppy little kid handwriting. Sam was holding Jack's arrowhead necklace, the leather one that Shawn had given the Colonel that summer at camp. The leather had long since been rubbed smooth. Jack wore it as often as he could, and when he wasn't wearing it, it was almost always in a pocket. Teal'c was standing, leaning against the far wall. He wasn't even pretending to do anything; he was just looking off into space, worrying. They all looked up at the voice. It was Hammond.  
  
"Yes, Sir?"  
  
"The Sergeant of the Guard at the main gate is calling for you. Line 3. It's important."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
Jack looked at the phone on his desk, and saw that it was blinking. How had he missed that? He picked up the receiver.  
  
"O'Neill."  
  
"No. I'll be right there. Make her comfortable."  
  
He hung up the phone, and stood up.  
  
"What is it?" Sam asked.  
  
"Shawn's mother is at the gate."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"I can't imagine they'd make it up, Carter." He headed for the door, followed by the others.  
  
"No, wait here. I can't have you all with me."  
  
Teal'c and Sam stopped, but Daniel went with him. Jack didn't argue.  
  
~*~  
  
"Jack!"  
  
Dotty Adams smiled. She was sitting in the large guard station with a glass mug of coffee, and beside her on the couch were a few papers and Shawn's flight Jacket.  
  
Jack forced a smile.  
  
"Are you all right, Jack? You look tired."  
  
"I'm fine, Dotty. How are you? Is everything okay?"  
  
"Hello, Dotty." Daniel said.  
  
"Hi, Daniel. You look tired, too. Is Shawn being good? Not driving you to distraction is he?"  
  
"Nah," Jack's smile was more forced, but it was a little better. "He's great."  
  
"Your Black Ops people forgot to kidnap his jacket, and I knew he'd want it." Dotty said, handing the garment over to Daniel. "And I'm afraid his teacher has assigned him some homework, so you'll need to force him to take some time and get it done, please?"  
  
Jack took the homework and nodded. "I'll take care of it, Dotty."  
  
"Thank you, Jack. I'd better get going, then. I don't want him to think I'm checking on him." She smiled, because she really was checking on him, in a way, knowing that if something was going wrong, Jack would have told her.  
  
"I'll tell him you came by," Daniel said. 


	11. 11

The sun was up when Shawn woke again. The rain had stopped, and light was entering the ruins through a hundred small – and large – openings, giving him plenty of light to see by. His head ached abominably, but he was so glad to see light that he was able to ignore the hurt and look around him, trying to figure out his surroundings.  
  
He was in a large room. Huge, actually. Like a church. The ceiling was high and it was completely empty. There was writing of some form etched into the very wall he was crouched against, and Shawn looked at it, trying to figure out what it said. It was nothing he recognized. Of course, all that meant was that it wasn't Goa'uld, Asgard, or English. He could have expected that. The boy ran his finger along it, feeling the jagged edge of the chisel that had originally carved the symbols into the wall. It looked incredibly old. And the building looked long abandoned.  
  
There was another opening besides the one that Shawn had come through. The boy could see it on the far end of the room, although it didn't appear to go back outside. Another room, perhaps, he decided. Probably filled with yet more writing, but nothing else. Shawn wondered if it was even worth the effort to get up and go look. His whole leg felt numb with pain, and his head was throbbing in the same rhythm his heart was beating. Getting up would only make him hurt that much more.  
  
"What do I do, Jack?" Shawn asked aloud. He wasn't crazy. He knew Jack wasn't there. He didn't like the silence of the ruins, though, and the sound of his voice was almost reassuring. The thought of Jack was even more so. Shawn knew if Jack was there what he would have told him to do. And he sighed and struggled to his feet, leaning heavily against the wall to make up for his hurt ankle.  
  
He didn't walk straight across the room. He couldn't put enough weight on his foot to walk across the room. He slid along the wall, like he had the night before in the dark. His tennis shoes didn't make any noise on the dusty floor as he made his way to the other opening, although his breath was a bit ragged, since his mouth and throat were parched. As he edged up to the far entrance, though, and peeked into the room, he gave a startled, glad cry that echoed through the room. Both of them. There, standing in the middle of what was obviously a temple of some sort, complete with an alter, was a Stargate.  
  
Forgetting himself, Shawn stepped forward, intent on getting to the dialing device. A flash of pain reminded him that his ankle wasn't supporting his weight, and he fell hard. Lying there, Shawn looked at the dialing device, and sorted through the memories he had of it. It was what he used to dial the address of the other Stargates. He knew that, because he knew what a dialing device was. He also knew the six symbols of the Earth Stargate, because he'd asked Thor about it once, and the alien had told him. The Asgard hadn't told him any other addresses, because he didn't think Shawn needed to know any other ones – he hadn't thought Shawn had needed the Earth one, either, but Shawn had been fairly insistent.  
  
Six symbols. That didn't sound right. Shawn didn't care, though. He forced himself back to his feet, and made his way carefully over to the dialing device, and looked at it. It was about the same level that he was, but he could see the symbols clearly. He knew all the symbols, because even though they were in the language of the Ancients, they were also in the language of the Asgard. Adapted millennium ago for the same purpose as the Ancients. Gate symbols. Shawn reached out a hand and pressed down on the first symbol. The first Tau'ri symbol. It lit up, and he felt a rush of excitement. He quickly dialed the other five symbols, being careful to dial them in the right order, knowing that if he didn't, he wasn't going to end up where he wanted to go. Then he pushed the large red center button, and watched excitedly.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Shawn pushed it again, a little harder, thinking that maybe something was stuck. Still nothing. It wasn't going to work. He gave it another push, just because he was too stubborn to believe it the first time, and slapped his hand on the dialing device in frustration. What was wrong!  
  
~*~  
  
"You need to get some rest, Colonel."  
  
Jack looked at Hammond, thinking that he wasn't the only one. Hammond looked as tired as O'Neill felt, and that was pretty tired.  
  
"I'm fine, Sir," Jack lied.  
  
"I'll have Fraiser sedate you if I have to."  
  
"You wouldn't."  
  
"You know me better than that. I would."  
  
"I don't want to-"  
  
"Jack. Get some sleep. There's a sofa in your office for a reason."  
  
"Daniel and Sam are sacked out on it."  
  
"Then use the one in my office."  
  
"I have homework to do."  
  
"Teal'c can do it." Teal'c, of course, looked rested and refreshed, even though he hadn't had any more sleep than the others. The big Jaffa raised an eyebrow at the General, though. He knew nothing about schoolwork. Certainly nothing about the 5th grade. He was certain that Daniel Jackson would do it, when he woke up, so he said nothing.  
  
"Jack. Go to my office and take a nap on my sofa. That's an order, Colonel."  
  
O'Neill started to say something, but Hammond held up his hand to stop him. He didn't say anything else, and Jack sighed, but turned and did as he was told, although it was obvious he wasn't happy about it.  
  
Hammond shook his head, and walked back to the Command center, hoping there'd be some good news waiting for him, but steadily losing hope. The boy had to be getting further and further away from them as the time passed. 


	12. 12

"Point of origin," Shawn muttered to himself. He'd been sitting on the floor of the room, leaning against the dialing device for hours, trying to decide what to do next as the shadows outside the other room lengthened, telling him that night was going to be coming eventually. Another night that would leave Shawn in the dark once more. He'd thought if he found a Stargate that his problems would be solved, but they obviously weren't. He'd stared at the Stargate, as though hoping the dumb thing would tell him what was wrong with it, but the answer had come from his own memories of the Asgard language. "Point of origin! I need another symbol!"  
  
There were seven symbols! Six to get Earth, but one more. The one for the place he was. He needed that one. Why hadn't the Asgard told him that? Maybe they thought he already knew? He got to his feet, feeling light- headed and wondering if it was just excitement, or if there was something wrong with him. Not that it mattered. Whatever it was, there wasn't anything he could do about it. He looked at the symbols, assuming the point of origin would be labeled. But they all looked the same. Nothing stood out to him. The symbol didn't jump out at him, and he wondered what would happen if he used the wrong one. Probably something bad.  
  
Shawn sighed, and looked around. He'd seen writing on the alter next to the Stargate. It was the same language that was etched into the stone in the big room, but he'd noticed, even from where he'd been leaning against the dialing device that some of them were Stargate symbols. Maybe the answer was there. He moved over, and sat in front of the thing, looking at the symbols, and trying to ignore the growling in his stomach and the fact that he was as miserable as he was ever going to be.  
  
He wished he knew what the words said. He knew they were words. They had the look of words, not pictures, like Daniel's Egyptian Hieroglyphs. These looked like they might even be letters. Like some kind of alphabet. But nothing he knew. All he recognized were the symbols that matched the ones on the dialing device and the Stargate, and they weren't in any particular order. They looked random, for that matter. Line after line of symbols, mixed in with some of the other language. Probably telling me exactly what I need to know, he thought bitterly. If only he knew how to read them.  
  
He reached out and ran his finger along one of the symbols. Then another. And another. And another. All seven of them. He felt tears threatening, and didn't bother to hide them. There wasn't anyone to hide them from. Shawn had pretty much decided that he was going to die. Here on this stupid planet, next to the one thing that could have gotten him home if he'd only figured out how to use it. Tears lined the dirt on his cheeks, dropping onto his jeans, creating wet spots in the denim.  
  
His parents weren't going to understand what had happened. That was if they ever found out. He didn't know how Jack was going to explain it. Shawn sniffed, mightily, but it jut hurt his head. He wasn't even going to get to say goodbye to anyone. Thor probably felt awful. Probably blamed himself. Jack was probably furious, but Shawn knew he would be sad, too, and it was Shawn's fault. Everyone would be sad, and it was all his fault. They were probably better off-  
  
"Seven?"  
  
He broke off his own litany of self-loathing, and looked at the alter once more. There were seven symbols. He counted them, touching each one.  
  
"Seven."  
  
Was it a Stargate address? He looked at another set of the symbols, ignoring the unfamiliar language to concentrate only on the ones he knew. Which were the symbols. There were seven there, too. And there. And there! They were all Stargate addresses! They had to be! He caught his breath, and focused. There had to be a single one that was in all of them. That one would be the point of origin. He was sure of it. He went back to the first ones, and looked again, then compared it with the next one. There were a couple symbols that matched. But that one was different than the second one, and the same as the first one. And that set had that one as well!  
  
Shawn lurched to his feet, and almost fell again. He clutched at the alter, and waited for his legs to stop shaking, then stared at the symbol until he was certain he knew which one it was. Then he made his way back over to the dialing device and looked on it, almost expecting not to see that symbol. He'd had so many things go wrong so far. But there it was. Was it really the right symbol? Was he just fooling himself? He knew he was having a bit of trouble focusing his thoughts. Maybe it was just wishful thinking?  
  
"Better to die trying," he said as he reached for the first symbol and pressed it. Again it lit up, and Shawn took a deep breath, forcing himself to concentrate. He pressed the rest of them in the proper order, and held his hand over the strange symbol. The one that he thought was the point of origin, but might just be the favorite symbol of the guy who'd wrote on the alter in the first place. He bit his lower lip, and pressed the symbol. It lit up as well, and Shawn swallowed, nervously as he pressed the center switch.  
  
The gate seemed to explode. Liquid came pouring out of it, only to be sucked back in in a rush, and Shawn fell backwards with a yell of terror. Was it supposed to do that? He'd never seen the Stargate in action before. He looked up at it from where he lay, and was amazed to see that the water was defying gravity. It was in the ring of the gate, but not pouring out. The event horizon? He wasn't sure. He did, however, know that there was only one way to find out.  
  
Shawn looked over his shoulder at the other room. It was going to be dark in only a few hours. Did he really want to go through another night here? The place was so empty, and lonely, and dark. Way too scary for him, and he knew it. He stood up, and limped painfully over to the Stargate, looking up at it, terrified. Shawn closed his eyes, and leaped forward, only at the last moment remembering that Thor had mentioned that the SGC had a shield on their Stargate. By then it was far too late to change his mind. He felt the thing grab him and pull him forward at a blinding speed. 


	13. 13

Author's Note: I could be wrong in my dialing order... wouldn't be the first time I messed something technical up! But we'll pretend the origin comes last, even if it doesn't. (at least for my story we will) I was just going by the last symbol they put in the computer in the movie before dialing it up.  
  
~*~  
  
The alarms went off as the Stargate started to dial in. Jack was in Hammond's office, dozing in the General's chair. He'd refused to lie down on the sofa, knowing that if he allowed himself to get too comfortable, he'd probably fall into a deeper sleep than he wanted to. So he'd settled himself in the chair. He sat up when the first alarm went off, and looked around wildly. He was on his feet and heading for the door before the second blaring, and heard the announcement that there was an unscheduled off world activation.  
  
It could have been the Tok'ra again. They could have news. He knew if it were the Asgard, they'd have just beamed themselves in. Jack didn't care. He just ran to the stairs that led to the embarkation room. And ran into Sam and Daniel, who looked as though they'd been startled out of their naps, as well.  
  
"Is it the Tok'ra?" Daniel asked. He didn't even have his glasses on, and Jack wondered absently where they were.  
  
"No idea."  
  
They rushed into the embarkation room, where Teal'c was standing next to Hammond. Both looked over as the three came in, but neither looked surprised to see them.  
  
"Who is it?"  
  
Hammond looked up at the Command center, but the Sergeant shook his head. "No IDC, Sir. It's not the Tok'ra."  
  
"Security teams, post!" Hammond ordered. If the Goa'uld had gotten wind that their iris was down, they could have decided to use the opportunity to launch an attack of their own. Jack and the others moved slightly to stand behind one of the M-60's, which had a metal shielding on it that would protect them somewhat from incoming enemy fire. Hammond moved as well, standing on the other side of the ramp, next to the other big gun. Waiting. And waiting. And waiting a little more.  
  
"What the hell?"  
  
Jack moved slightly, looking up at the Gate, which was active. "Are they-"  
  
The Gate flared, and a figure tumbling out, falling immediately and tumbling like a rag doll to the bottom of the ramp. A figure that was wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  
  
"Shawn!"  
  
Jack leapt forward, as did Hammond and the others.  
  
"Close the iris! Medical team to the embarkation room!"  
  
Jack threw himself down next to the boy, pulling him up into his arms, desperately checking him for injuries.  
  
"Shawn!"  
  
The boy looked up at Jack, his dark eyes not really focusing properly, and disbelief in his expression.  
  
"Jack? Is it rea-"  
  
"Thank God..."  
  
The Colonel started to pull the boy against him, but stopped when he heard a gasp of pain. He hadn't missed the head injury, or the fact that Shawn's shirt was stained with blood. Almost frantically, he handed the boy over to Sam, and pulled his shirt up, looking for another source of the blood, something more serious than the gash on his forehead. He didn't see anything, though. Bruises, yes, but no cuts.  
  
"Let me have him, Sam," Fraiser said from behind them. She'd made good time, getting to the embarkation room with a gurney and a medical team only moments after Hammond had called for them.  
  
Carter handed the boy over immediately, but Jack wasn't done with him, and he stood up, intending to take him back. He hadn't yet proved to himself that Shawn was all right. He wasn't ready to-  
  
"Let me check him out, Colonel," Fraiser said, turning and putting her body between Jack and Shawn as she placed the boy on the gurney.  
  
"Jack?"  
  
"It's okay, Shawn," This was Daniel's voice. Jack was too busy trying to get to the boy's side to respond.  
  
"Colonel. Stop."  
  
"Jack, help!" Shawn was struggling against Fraiser, who was someone he didn't know.  
  
"Shawn, you're okay," Fraiser said, trying to soothe the boy. Shawn didn't want to be soothed. He wanted to be held.  
  
"Jack!"  
  
"Colonel, help me out here," Fraiser finally decided Jack could calm the boy where she couldn't. He was in danger of throwing himself off the gurney, and she couldn't risk that. She would have sedated him, but she couldn't get him still enough to get a needle in him.  
  
Jack was already there. He scooped Shawn up off the gurney and felt the boy clinging to him tightly, immediately.  
  
"I gotcha, Shawn," Jack soothed, turning and heading for the infirmary with him still in his arms. "I have you."  
  
"I'm sorry, Jack," Shawn's voice was muffled, by sobs and by the fact that his face was buried against Jack's chest. O'Neill shook his head even though Shawn couldn't see it, and held him closer, forgetting that he was hurt. He couldn't have been gentle just then if his life depended on it.  
  
"We'll talk about it later," Jack told him, his own voice rough from emotions that were struggling to get out that O'Neill wasn't willing to allow. Not now. They entered the infirmary, and Jack headed for the nearest bed. "Listen, Shawn. This is Janet Fraiser. She's a doctor, and a friend of mine. I want you to lay still so she can look you over."  
  
"She knows Sam?"  
  
Jack and Fraiser both nodded, and Shawn looked up as the rest of SG-1, accompanied by Hammond, walked into the infirmary as well, even though they stayed by the door.  
  
"She's Sam's best friend." Jack confirmed.  
  
"I thought you-"  
  
"It's a different kind of friendship. Just do what I tell you, okay?"  
  
Shawn nodded, and Fraiser called to her medical team to help her get the boy cleaned up so they could get a better idea of what injuries he had. As the adult swarmed around him in a confused mass of people, Shawn lost sight of Jack, who had moved to the side to allow the others to work. He'd assured himself of what he needed to know. Shawn was okay. Or would be.  
  
"Jack!"  
  
"Don't panic, buddy," O'Neill told him, moving to the head of the bed so Shawn could see him. "They're not going to hurt you. I promise."  
  
Janet smiled down at him, caressing his soft cheek with a finger. Jack would have said putting on the charm. Fraiser would have said putting on her bedside manner.  
  
"Don't worry. You're in good hands."  
  
Shawn nodded, looking up at her, then over at Jack.  
  
"You'll stay."  
  
"I'll be right by the door. Out of the way." He knew that the medics needed all the room they could get. "If you call, I'll hear you. Okay?"  
  
Shawn nodded again, and Jack backed up away from the bed, allowing another doctor to take his place, then turned and walked to the door, and the group assembled there. 


	14. 14

"How is he?" Carter asked when Jack joined them.  
  
"Pretty beat up," Jack said, leaning against the doorframe, his eyes on the crowd of people around the bed.  
  
"But alive." Daniel said, pointing out the obvious.  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"Yeah." There was no mistaking the relief in Jack's voice, or the relief in Teal'c's.  
  
"I'm going to go send a message to the Tok'ra, and let them know we have him. Then I'll call Thor-"  
  
"Don't let that little sneaky bastard leave until I get a chance-"  
  
"I'm sure he's not going to go anywhere," Hammond said, holding a hand up to stop Jack. "The Asgard have a lot to explain."  
  
Hammond didn't even wait for a reply. That was the good thing about being in charge of his little group of hot heads; he didn't have to stand around and listen to them when he didn't want to.  
  
~*~  
  
Fraiser came over to them about twenty minutes later. The four had been kicked out of the infirmary, but had hovered just outside the door. Jack listening in case Shawn called him, the others just waiting to hear how he was doing.  
  
"How is he?" Sam asked, as they all straightened up at her approach.  
  
Janet smiled, which made them all relax a bit without even realizing it. She only smiled when the news was good.  
  
"He's got a nasty concussion, and he sprained his ankle. We're going to x- ray it to make sure it's not broken, but we have to wait for the swelling to go down before we can, or we won't get a good picture."  
  
"But he's okay?" Jack asked.  
  
"He will be. He's pretty shook up, though. We sedated him and put him on an IV to replace fluids, but we'll take the IV out before he wakes up, most likely. The last thing he needs is to be attached to a lot of machines."  
  
"How long will he be out?" Jack asked.  
  
"A few hours, probably more."  
  
"Thanks, Doc." Jack surprised them all by leaning over and kissing Fraiser's cheek. "I'll be back."  
  
He turned and walked down the hall. Janet stared after him, but she wasn't the only one. There was a noticeable pause before the other three turned and followed him, wondering where he was going.  
  
~*~  
  
"You got that thing Thor gave you?"  
  
Hammond looked up as O'Neill walked into the Command center.  
  
"How's Shawn?"  
  
"He's going to be fine. Concussion, maybe a broken ankle, they won't know until they x-ray it. You got that thing?"  
  
Hammond pulled the communications device out of his pocket and handed it to O'Neill.  
  
"I don't need to remind you, Colonel, that the Asgard are our allies?"  
  
Jack scowled, just as Carter, Daniel and Teal'c walked in.  
  
"No, Sir. I know what they are."  
  
"What's up?" Daniel asked.  
  
"I'm going to have a talk with Thor," Jack said, simply. He turned and left the Command center.  
  
"Jack?"  
  
"Daniel?"  
  
"What are you going to talk to Thor about?"  
  
"The weather."  
  
"Seriously, Sir," Carter said from behind Jack where the three were following him down the corridor. "If you just start yelling at him it's-"  
  
Jack turned so sharply that Daniel actually ran into him.  
  
"What do you want me to do, Carter? Let them think it's all right? Stand back and wait for them to do something stupid like this again?" The fury in O'Neill's voice was plain, now. All the frustration of the last two days coming out and lashing against the person who deserved it the least. Carter didn't back down, though.  
  
"Of course not. But Thor isn't the only one who is at fault. Shawn knew what he was doing. I know he didn't mean to get lost, but he knew what he was doing when he got into that Attacker, and he knew you wouldn't approve and he did it anyways." She gave him a moment to let that sink in, then continued. "What makes you think he won't do it again?"  
  
"He won't."  
  
"He very well might, and you know it. Yelling at Thor isn't going to change the fact that Shawn knows a lot more than he should, and that he's anxious to use that knowledge."  
  
"What am I supposed to do, Carter?" Jack asked. "Let the Asgard keep screwing around with him? Teaching him who knows what? Letting him get into situations like this where we end up-"  
  
"No, Jack." Sam shook her head. "The Asgard can't be allowed to continue what they've been doing. Not the way they've been doing it, anyways. It's too dangerous."  
  
"What then?"  
  
"Let's go talk to Hammond." 


	15. 15

"So what did you have in mind, Major?" Hammond asked. The five of them were sitting around the briefing table, and Sam had just told the General what she'd already told Jack. That in her opinion, the Asgard were going to continue with their agenda for Shawn, and Shawn was going to be all for it, because he wanted to be part of what Jack was doing and the Asgard were Shawn's ticket to doing just that. In a way, Sam said, the boy had been using the Asgard far more than they'd been using him. He just had been less obvious about it.  
  
"We need to discuss this with Thor," Sam said.  
  
"I was going-"  
  
"Oh, no. YOU were going to yell at him." Sam corrected, when Jack spoke up. "And probably tell him to stay away."  
  
"Well-"  
  
"If you do that, they're going to go back to doing what they were doing. Hiding it. That's when it gets dangerous."  
  
"It's dangerous because they're letting him do things that-"  
  
"That he shouldn't be doing." Hammond finished. "I agree." Hammond had had just as rough a last couple days as Jack, and he was just as furious about the hidden activities of the Asgard. He was no more ready to forgive them - or allow it to continue – than Jack was.  
  
"Yes, Sir. But he's probably going to keep doing it."  
  
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Jack said.  
  
"You have everything to say about it, Jack," Daniel told him, breaking in for the first time. "That little boy idolizes and loves you. If you tell him to stop, he might. But he'll be miserable, and it'll be your fault."  
  
"Miserable?" Jack's temper flared. "He'll be safe, Daniel! He'll have a chance to grow up to be a normal person, not some Asgard experiment!"  
  
"He'll be miserable. Do you know how hard it would be for him to know all that he knows, and not be able to use that knowledge? How much it probably hurts to be left out now? When he knows what you do, and you won't let him do anything to be a part of that? Won't let him help?"  
  
"He's a kid," Jack said. "He should be allowed to be a kid."  
  
"He can still be a kid," Daniel said. "He's done a fair job of mixing the Asgard and his home life so far. It'd just make things easier on him if he didn't have to hide it behind our backs as well."  
  
"You're not listening, Daniel. I don't want him to have anything to do with the Asgard. I don't know what they want with him, but I'm going to find out. Then I'm going to put a stop to it. He's a child, and he's going to be a child a while longer."  
  
"Are you saying that because you don't want him to be used by the Asgard, or are you saying that because you're angry that Thor and he hid something from you and you want to punish him for it?"  
  
Jack's hand came down on the surface of the table. Hard. His temper was beyond gone.  
  
"We don't use our kids, Daniel! Goddamn it, why don't you understand? I told that to Thor months ago, and I'll tell you the same thing. I'll even use that fucking dictionary and write it in Goa'uld on your forehead if you want me to!" Jack pushed his chair back and stood up. "Am I mad that Thor hid this? You better believe it. I'm furious. I'm beyond furious. He's a little boy. He's not ready for this, yet, and he might never be ready for it."  
  
"He thinks he is."  
  
"He's wrong."  
  
Jack turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, leaving a very quiet group in his wake.  
  
"Well... that could have gone better..." Daniel said softly.  
  
"It is my opinion that O'Neill is correct," Teal'c said, standing up as well. "The Goa'uld use children for their own purposes. The Tau'ri should not. Nor should their allies."  
  
The Jaffa left the room as well. He'd said all that he had to say.  
  
~*~  
  
"How's he doing, Doc?"  
  
Fraiser looked up from her chart and smiled. Another one of those 'everything's okay' smiles. "I'm glad you're here, Colonel. We've replaced the fluids he's lost and removed the IV. He should be waking up soon. I definitely think it'd be a good idea if you were here when he wakes up."  
  
"Me, too."  
  
Jack looked around the infirmary, noting the starkness of the room, and hesitated.  
  
"Does he have to be here? Can we move him to a regular room? One of the VIP rooms? Someplace a little... um..."  
  
"Someplace that doesn't quite look so much like a hospital, you mean?" Janet asked, smiling.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Sure. That's probably a good idea."  
  
She waved over a couple of corpsmen, and asked them to transfer Shawn to one of the empty VIP rooms.  
  
"Be careful with him," Jack told them, unnecessarily.  
  
"You get to order your people around," Fraiser told him, tapping his chest with her chart to let him know she was only half serious. "Don't tell mine how to do their jobs."  
  
"None of mine ever listen, anyways," Jack said absently. "Sorry, Doc." He didn't wait for her reply, though. They'd already put the sleeping boy on a gurney and were rolling him out of the room, and Jack was quick to follow. 


	16. 16

"Jack!"  
  
His sleep had been filled with warmth and comfort. The hurts that had plagued him for so long seemed to ease, and he felt soothing hands touching his face and hands. Then the dream had changed, and Shawn was only aware of the rain that was pounding down on his face, and the darkness that threatened to drive him insane with loneliness and fear. Shawn knew even as he cried for help that Jack wasn't there. He was utterly alone in the night, and there would be no answer to his cry. But he cried out anyways, unable to control the fear.  
  
"Easy..." He felt the impossible. Soothing hands touching him, stroking his cheek firmly enough that he actually thought it was real, yet gently enough that the action didn't aggravate hurts he already had. Shawn knew it wasn't real, though, and he struggled to wake up, fought the demons that held him so tightly, and squirmed to get loose. He called again, fear making his voice shrill.  
  
"Jack!"  
  
"Shawn..."  
  
He felt himself picked up bodily and pulled into an embrace. Felt strong arms holding him closely against a warm body, and even as he struggled against it, he yearned for the comfort that the touch promised, and he fought to figure out which was real. The fear and pain, or the comfort and warmth.  
  
"Shawn, it's a dream, nothing more. Wake up, buddy... open your eyes and look at me..."  
  
The voice was Jack's. He was certain of it. As soft as ever, but filled with concern and exhaustion. Shawn did as he was told, and opened his eyes. And saw only darkness. It wasn't real. He was alone and dreaming. Then the strong warmth his head was resting against moved, and Shawn saw a faint light, and realized his face had been pressed against some kind of cloth. That was why he couldn't see. Not because the room was dark. The room wasn't dark at all. Shawn blinked, and looked around him, seeing a normal room, and not an empty ruin.  
  
He looked up, right into the worried brown eyes of Jack O'Neill. And burst into tears.  
  
"Easy, Shawn..." Jack held the boy as he cried, worried about the glassy-eyed look that Shawn had given him, but glad that he'd seemed to recognize him before he'd started crying. "I got you, buddy... I got you...."  
  
He held him as firmly as he dared without causing him any additional hurt, careful of the ankle that was only protected by an air cast until they knew what was wrong with it. But he held him, and had no intention of letting him go.  
  
"I've got you, Shawn..."  
  
"I'm sorry, Jack..." The words were muffled against his shirt, which was growing damp with tears and snot, but Jack ignored the words, and the wetness. He ran his hand along the boy's back, rubbing him gently; soothing him as well as he could with the simple touch as he whispered reassurances to him.  
  
"I've got you... you're okay..."  
  
~*~  
  
"Maybe he's right?"  
  
Daniel looked over at Carter, who was sitting in his office with him. The two had went there together, since there was no sense in trying to talk to Jack or Teal'c, and there was even less reason to talk to contact Thor. And they'd been brooding for the past couple hours, each lost in their own thoughts.  
  
"Jack?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Sam... I don't think so."  
  
"Maybe he is, Daniel." She pressed. "Did you notice that the two people who are the most willing to allow the Asgard to continue teaching Shawn are the two scientists?"  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"Maybe, deep down inside, we want to see how the experiment turns out. We want to see what Shawn can become if the Asgard have their chance with him."  
  
"That ridiculous!"  
  
"Is it?" Sam challenged. "You're not a little curious to see what they want from him? Or what they could make of him if they continue teaching him? Not even a little?"  
  
Daniel paused, thinking that through for a moment. Trying to look at it objectively. Was he curious? Maybe he was a little excited to see what else the boy would be able to do? After all, Shawn had already presented him with a very workable Goa'uld dictionary. Maybe deep down, Daniel DID want more. Maybe he wanted to see how many other languages Shawn could learn and pass on to him?  
  
He looked down at the binder that was sitting on his desk, and sighed.  
  
"Maybe..."  
  
"Yeah, maybe." Sam sighed as well, wondering when she'd decided that the Asgard agenda was worth more than Shawn's happiness.  
  
"It just seems right, though, Sam. He's learned an incredible amount of things already..."  
  
"He's a kid, Daniel." She realized another difference in their point of thinking. "Teal'c and Jack are fathers – at least Jack used to be. Maybe we don't have that protective edge when it comes to children that they do? Maybe that allowed us to be blinded by the what ifs?"  
  
"He could learn so much-"  
  
"He will learn... but his teachers should be the ones that love him the most. Not the ones that want something from him. Teal'c and Jack are right."  
  
God, how many times had she ever heard herself say that? She could count them on one hand, she was certain. 


	17. 17

He'd dozed off while Jack had held him, but O'Neill wasn't worried. He shifted on the bed, resting his back against the headboard and pulling Shawn up into a more comfortable position on him. Then he'd tugged the blankets back up and over both of them. It wasn't going to kill him to sit and hold Shawn for a while. He had to come up with a story to tell the boy's parents. Something to explain the injuries. Probably an accident of some kind, but he needed something a little more specific, and he'd need to coach Shawn in the story when he woke up again. Jack was just glad that he needed to come up with that story and not something else. He wouldn't have to try to find a way to tell Dotty and James that Shawn was missing, or dead.  
  
He sighed tiredly; the story would wait. He had to take time and consider the rift between him and his team. It wasn't the first time he'd been in disagreement with Daniel – or Sam, for that matter – and he was certain it wouldn't be the last. But it was so important to him that they understand, and they didn't seem to get it t all. Jack knew he wasn't always the greatest when it came to getting his feelings out calmly, and he'd definitely proved it in the briefing room, but was it really all that complicated? They were geniuses, right? He sighed, and shifted the sleeping form a little closer to him, idly murmuring a soothing word when Shawn stirred at the motion.  
  
~*~  
  
Sam went looking for Jack. She checked the infirmary, knowing even as angry as he was, he'd want to be near Shawn when he woke up, but found that both of them were gone. Checking with Fraiser, she was told they'd moved Shawn to a better room to wake up in, and had to admit there was a certain logic in that. Of course, leave it to Janet to think of something like that, Sam thought as she walked down the corridor to one of the VIP rooms.  
  
She pressed her ear against the door, but didn't hear anything. Assuming that she wouldn't be interrupting a conversation on the off chance Shawn was awake, Sam tapped lightly on the door and tiptoed in silently.  
  
Jack wasn't sitting beside the bed in a chair as Sam had half-expected. He was on the bed with his back propped up against the headboard and a couple pillows. And Shawn was firmly in his arms, cradled protectively as he slept and covered warmly against a possible chill. At first Carter thought that Jack was dozing as well, since his eyes were closed, but they opened when he heard the door close, and he looked over to see who it was.  
  
Did his arms tighten just a little around Shawn when he saw her? Did he really think he had to protect Shawn from her? Even a little? She sighed, but knew it was her own fault and not Jack's. He was trying to protect Shawn. He was trying to do what he thought was right for the little boy, and she was certain that this time, at least, he was right.  
  
"How's he doing?" She asked softly, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed.  
  
"He woke up a little bit ago. Must have been some kind of nightmare, because he was screaming. Took me a bit to get him back to sleep."  
  
"I can imagine."  
  
"He'll probably need a ton of therapy," Jack said. The bitterness in his voice was palpable.  
  
Sam nodded, reaching out a hand and gently touching the boy's soft cheek.  
  
"I'm sorry, Jack."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"You're right. We shouldn't let the Asgard continue to do what they've been doing."  
  
It was apparent to Sam that her sudden change of heart had him a little off balance. Obviously Jack had expected her to come in and try to persuade him to change his mind. She understood that reaction, and she didn't hold it against him.  
  
"Can I hold him?"  
  
"You don't have to apologize to hold him, Sam..."  
  
"I know."  
  
She smiled, but he saw that his words had hurt her, and he didn't want to hurt her. He never wanted to hurt her.  
  
"Watch his ankle." He handed the boy over, blankets and all, carefully shifting him into her arms. Jack didn't ask her why she'd changed her mind. It was enough that she had. He could see the sincerity in her eyes, and he knew her well enough that the sincerity in her voice was just as obvious.  
  
Carter gathered him into her embrace, tucking his head under her chin, and Jack moved a couple pillows behind her so she didn't have to sit up if she didn't want to. She looked tired, he decided, and thought that it might not be a bad thing for her to doze off with Shawn. They could both get some well-needed rest, while Jack went and looked for Hammond. They still needed to come up with a plausible story to tell Shawn's folks.  
  
"Will you stay with him for a while, Sam?" Jack asked her, reaching out and touching her cheek. "I need to go find General Hammond."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"What if he wakes up?"  
  
"Tell him I'll be right back." Jack said, sliding off the bed. "I will be."  
  
He headed for the door, and suddenly vanished in a bright, white light that Sam recognized immediately.  
  
"Oh no..."  
  
Sam didn't know what Thor wanted, but she knew the reception the Asgard was going to get. She briefly wondered if she was going to hear Jack's explosion even from way down here. 


	18. 18

He should have been surprised, but somehow Jack had been expecting Thor to beam him up. It was a confrontation that was going to take place, eventually. Thor had just been the one to choose when that time was. Just because he wasn't surprised, though, it didn't mean he wasn't angry.  
  
He'd materialized facing away from the Command chair, and pivoted the moment he realized where he was. Turning, he saw Thor seated in the chair, his dark eyes looking at Jack expectantly. Jack opened his mouth but the Asgard spoke up before O'Neill could say anything.  
  
"You found him."  
  
"He found us," Jack corrected. "No thanks to-"  
  
"It is fortunate, O'Neill. We are relieved to have him back safely."  
  
"YOU don't have him back. WE do. I do." Jack had been building to this all weekend, and the fury was rising every moment he stood there. Thor was the one who'd allowed it to happen. He was the one who'd lost Shawn in the first place. Who'd allowed him to get into such a dangerous situation. "I don't know what you and your buddies have been doing with him, and what you're getting out of the deal, but you're done. I don't want you anywhere near him. I don't want-"  
  
"He is our best hope, O'Neill." Thor said, cutting off Jack with his ever- calm voice.  
  
"Your best hope for beating the Goa'uld?" Jack asked, still seething. "I expect to have the snakes beat long before Shawn is old enough-"  
  
"No. Not the Goa'uld. We Asgard could deal with the Goa'uld on our own if not for other concerns that are more pressing."  
  
"There's nothing more-"  
  
"There is, O'Neill. We are fighting many battles. The Goa'uld are not the only enemy of the Asgard."  
  
"They're-"  
  
"Evil. Yes, I know. They are also the biggest threat to your planet. I know this, as well. However, there are bigger and greater threats out there. Threats you do not yet know about."  
  
"What does this have to do with Shawn?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"But you-"  
  
"You asked me about the Goa'uld. We do not require your young friend's help in defeating the Goa'uld. We hope to use him to help us with another matter. A far more serious one."  
  
Jack took a deep breath. Then another. He was very aware of his anger, and well aware that the Asgard were his allies. They'd helped him when he'd needed it, and in return he wasn't going to strangle Thor like he wanted to. Unless of course, he didn't get a straight answer out of the little gray alien.  
  
"You. Can. Not. USE. Him." Jack said, slowly, as if speaking to a child. "He's a little boy. Not your tool."  
  
"We need him." Thor said, slowly, as if speaking to a child.  
  
"You can't have him!" Jack yelled. He made a frustrated noise, aware that he wasn't getting anywhere, and tried another approach. "What do you want him for? What can he possibly do for you that you can't do yourself?"  
  
"We do not wish to discuss that. It is... personal."  
  
"You'll discuss it with a ten year old, but not with me?"  
  
"He does not know, either."  
  
"Then how is he supposed-"  
  
"He will know when the time is right. There is much he needs to learn, first."  
  
"Like flying Attackers, and getting los-"  
  
"That was an accident," Thor said. "He insisted we teach him to fly. As part of our bargain."  
  
"Yes, I've heard plenty about your bargain." Jack retorted. "See where your bargain has gotten you? You could have gotten him killed. Or worse, captured by the Goa'uld."  
  
"It was an accident," Thor told him again.  
  
"IT NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED!"  
  
"Yes, this much is correct, O'Neill. We allowed the boy to manipulate us and it put him in danger that he should not have-"  
  
"Why not just ask Carter?" Jack interrupted. "She's a lot smarter than Shawn is. Hell, she's pretty much smarter than the rest of the planet!"  
  
"She is an adult, and her thought patterns are already set in certain paths. She is intelligent, yes, but we need a..." He paused, as if looking for the proper word. Or maybe a word that wouldn't make Jack angry again. "...a person who can think innovatively. Outside of the normal bounds. Someone who does not see what can and cannot be done, and will be able to find an answer where we cannot. If the Asgard teach Shawn everything he needs to know, then set him loose on the problem, we feel he will be the best hope we have to solving it."  
  
"Let me get this straight..." Jack said, feeling the same headache forming that he always seemed to get when he was talking to Thor. "You want him to learn all your sciences?"  
  
"Not all of them, Colonel O'Neill, but some. Yes."  
  
"You don't want to teach him how to fight? Or how to fly? Or how to fight the Goa'uld, or any other creatures?"  
  
"Correct. There is nothing he could learn from us about fighting the Goa'uld. You yourself would be a far better instructor in such matters."  
  
"Don't flatter me," Jack warned. He wasn't in the mood. "All you want is to teach him safe stuff?"  
  
"Safe?"  
  
"Scientific stuff," Jack said, scowling. "Egg-head stuff. Nothing dangerous."  
  
"Correct."  
  
"Then why are you teaching him how to fly-"  
  
"I have already told you, O'Neill." Thor sounded as frustrated as Jack, now. Almost. "We did not wish to teach him to fly Attackers. HE desired this. And refused to learn anything else unless we allowed it."  
  
"You put him in a lot of danger, Thor. This little bargain could have killed him."  
  
"He is uninjured, then?"  
  
"No, he's not. He's got a wicked concussion and a broken ankle. Maybe." Jack realized that Thor was changing the subject, and he wasn't ready to let it go.  
  
"Your bargain with him is over. I don't want him in any more attackers, and I don't want him in your simulator. I don't want you or your buddies following us around, either. I don't care what he says."  
  
"We need-"  
  
Jack held up his hand. "I know. You THINK you need him. Let me think about that a bit, and talk to him. I'm not promising you anything, but as long as there's nothing dangerous-"  
  
"There is not."  
  
"I'll think about it."  
  
"That is more than I could have hoped for from you, O'Neill."  
  
"Oh, I'm not done." Jack said, ominously. "We're going to make a bargain of our own."  
  
~*~  
  
Someone else was holding him, Shawn realized as he began to wake up. Jack wasn't that soft, and he didn't smell like that. He stirred, and opened his eyes, looking up to see who it was.  
  
"Sam?"  
  
Carter smiled down at him, running her fingers gently through his hair as she noted the confused look in his brown eyes. Eyes that were a lot like Jack's, even though the two weren't related. Maybe it was just the seriousness in them.  
  
"Hi, sweetheart. How do you feel?"  
  
"My foot hurts." He didn't move. "Where's Jack?"  
  
"Oh, he's off talking to someone..."  
  
'He's pretty angry, huh?"  
  
Sam knew that Jack never lied to Shawn, and she wasn't going to, either.  
  
"He's a bit mad, yes."  
  
"At me?"  
  
"You scared him." Sam said. "He was frantic when Thor came and told us you were missing."  
  
"He gets angry when he's scared," Shawn said, nodding his head without lifting it from her shoulder. It hurt to move too much, and he was comfortable. "He probably hates me now." There was a hollowness in Shawn's voice that told Sam he wasn't going to cry, but only because the situation was so bad that he was beyond tears. It had progressed right into the realm of hopelessness.  
  
"You know better than that." Sam told the boy, giving him a hug. "I don't think you have any idea how much Jack loves you. He'd do anything for you."  
  
"He'd do anything for you, Sam..."  
  
"I know." She gave a deep sigh, and hugged him even closer. "It's a huge responsibility to have someone care for you that much. That's why we have to be careful not to do things that are too dangerous, Shawn. We can't get into situations that force Jack to worry. Especially you. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes." 


	19. 19

Author's Note: hehe, nope, Shawn is not related to Jack. (I toyed with that idea for a while some time back, but decided against it.)  
  
~*~  
  
It was later than O'Neill had intended when he finally returned to the room that Shawn had been assigned. He hadn't intended to be gone so long, but he in a much better mood when he reached the door than he'd been when he'd left. He opened it quietly, in case Shawn was asleep, but when he looked in he saw that they were both asleep. She was still cradling him in her arms, and Shawn had obviously woken up, since he was now cuddled next to her instead of sprawled on her like he'd been when Jack had left.  
  
He closed the door silently, and leaned against it, watching them for a long moment with a slight smile on his face since there was no one there to see it. They were undoubtedly the two most important people in his life. Not the only things that was important to him, of course, but they definitely were at the top of a very small list.  
  
He walked over to the bed and sat down in the chair next to it. He'd originally intended to have a talk with Shawn, but it could wait. Hammond wouldn't mind waiting, and Jack didn't care if Thor minded waiting or not.  
  
~*~  
  
Sam woke first. She saw Jack beside the bed immediately, sitting there watching them, and checked to make sure Shawn was still beside her in the bed. He was.  
  
"Good morning, Major," he whispered.  
  
'Is it morning?" She asked just as silently, to avoid waking the boy beside her. She was all turned around.  
  
Jack looked down at his watch. "No. It's middle of the night. How is he? Did you talk to him?"  
  
"He's afraid you hate him."  
  
"I don't."  
  
"I know. I told him that."  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"Jack?"  
  
Shawn had woken as well.  
  
"Hey, buddy. How's the head?"  
  
"It's okay." Shawn was looking at Jack hesitantly, expecting to be chewed out at any minute. Jack wasn't quite ready for that, yet.  
  
"Good."  
  
Since they were both awake, Jack didn't whisper anymore. He sat up a bit more, and Sam did the same, which caused Shawn to do it automatically as well.  
  
"I've been talking to Thor," Jack said. "He's got a doo-hickey thing that should take care of your ankle. No promises, since apparently Asgard medical stuff doesn't work exactly the same on human type people as it does on them, but it'll help."  
  
"It doesn't matter," Shawn said. "I deserve-"  
  
"It does matter," Jack said. "Bad enough we've got to explain the stitches and bruises, but I bring you home with a broken ankle and your parents would kill me."  
  
"Oh. I didn't think about that."  
  
"There's a lot you haven't been thinking about, lately, isn't there?" Jack asked. He was careful to keep his voice as neutral as he could.  
  
Shawn blanched, but nodded. He'd known Jack was going to be mad. He was ready to be chewed out, and knew that he deserved it. He lifted his chin a little, prepared, even though Jack mad at him was the last thing he'd wanted. Sam was right, though, and Shawn knew it. Jack would yell, but he would still love Shawn. Even when it was over.  
  
Sam was glad she was sitting behind Shawn so the boy couldn't see her smile. When he'd raised his chin like that, he looked just like Jack right before he was about to get chewed out. Jack saw the smile, though, and scowled, which didn't make it fade from Carter's lips.  
  
"You knew I wouldn't approve of you staying in contact with Thor or the rest of the Asgard, didn't you?"  
  
Shawn nodded.  
  
"You knew what you were doing was wrong."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"But you did it anyways, knowing full well that when I found out about it, I wasn't going to be happy."  
  
Shawn lowered his eyes. It sounded a lot worse the way Jack said it.  
  
"I was trying to help."  
  
"You're not old enough to help, yet, Shawn." Jack told him. Sam was impressed that Jack's voice was still calm. She knew he was still upset. "You're supposed to be a kid, Shawn," Jack said. "You're supposed to be doing kid things. Baseball. Hockey. Playing in the damn park with a Frisbee for God's sake." His volume increased slightly, but was still mainly under control.  
  
"I wanted to do something for you, Jack. The Asgard wanted to teach me, and I couldn't see any harm in it. I told them they had to keep an eye-"  
  
"I know, Shawn." Jack interrupted. "But you also told them they had to teach you to fly Attackers, and I'd love to know how that was supposed to be helpful?"  
  
Shawn lowered his eyes. "Learning the other stuff was boring, sometimes. I wanted-"  
  
"You put yourself in danger!"  
  
Shawn flinched.  
  
"You could have been killed, don't you understand?"  
  
"Yes." Tears were welling up in the boy's eyes, now, but it wasn't because Jack had yelled. He knew very well how close he'd come to being killed, and had had plenty of time to think about the repercussions of what he'd done while he'd been alone. The fear wasn't something he'd forget any time soon.  
  
Jack reached out and pulled Shawn into his arms, unable to stay mad.  
  
"Shawn, I can't lose you." Jack murmured, feeling the familiar stinging in his eyes as tears threatened. "You don't understand what you mean to me, but you have to believe me when I tell you that I'd be devastated if something happened to you. Especially if it was something that I could have stopped."  
  
Only then was it that Shawn truly realized what he'd done. Sam had hinted at it, and Shawn had told her he understood, but Jack was the one that made it so clear. Jack really did need him. Shawn didn't exactly understand how he could be so important to someone that wasn't even related to him, but it was obvious he was.  
  
"I'm sorry, Jack... I won't do it again."  
  
"No, you won't." Jack pressed an uncharacteristic kiss against the boy's cheek, and let him go. Wiping his eyes, he stood up, and picked Shawn up carefully in his arms, making sure to not bump the injured ankle.  
  
"Come on, Sam. We have an appointment with the Asgard." 


	20. 20

"Where are we going?" Sam asked as they walked down the hall.  
  
"Briefing room."  
  
There was a small group of people in the room; Hammond, Fraiser, Daniel and Teal'c. Other than that it was empty. Until Jack walked in. Then suddenly there was a white flash and they were joined by a group of six Asgard. Including Thor. Jack ignored their entrance, and handed Shawn over to Teal'c, who held the boy in his powerful arms easily.  
  
"Thor?"  
  
The Asgard stepped forward, holding a device that glowed slightly. He walked over to the Jaffa, and ran his delicate fingers gently over Shawn's injured ankle. The device glowed a bright blue as Thor found the injury, and then dulled in color as the Asgard held it against the affected area. It was obvious from the look on Shawn's face that something was happening, and as the dull glow faded, he sighed with relief.  
  
"Thanks, Thor."  
  
Obviously the ankle was healed.  
  
The Asgard looked up at the boy, ignoring the scowl Teal'c gave him. The Jaffa wasn't pleased. He was fond of Shawn, and didn't like the fact that the Asgard had allowed him to come to harm. Thor was either oblivious to the irritated look Teal'c threw him, or he was studiously ignoring it.  
  
"You are welcome." He looked at Teal'c. "His ankle is healed. You may put him down."  
  
"I shall hold him a moment longer."  
  
Teal'c didn't entirely trust the Asgard.  
  
Sam hid her smile, but Jack only looked like he approved.  
  
"All right. This is what's going to happen," O'Neill said, stepping forward. He looked at the Asgard High Council, who were all there, and were waiting. They weren't exactly sure what the deal was going to be, but they were willing to listen.  
  
"Shawn?" The boy looked at Jack. "Bearing in mind that the flying lessons are over, do you want to continue learning the other stuff the Asgard are teaching you?"  
  
The boy thought that over, and nodded. "They want me to help them. Someday."  
  
"Fine." Jack looked at the Asgard. "You can teach him. However. He doesn't leave the planet with you. Ever. No field trips, no exceptions. Agreed?"  
  
"There may be-"  
  
"No." Jack held up a hand to interrupt. "You've been teaching him without taking him anywhere now. You can continue to do so." He looked at Shawn, giving a look that meant he was absolutely serious and expected to be obeyed. "And no sneaking around behind my back."  
  
The boy nodded. He couldn't believe Jack was willing to let him continue with the Asgard. And for that matter, neither could the Asgard.  
  
"There is more." Thor said, looking at O'Neill. They'd already had this discussion, although it had only been Thor and Jack at the time. Now it would include everyone, so there could be no misunderstanding. Jack nodded.  
  
"Shawn's still a kid. I intend for him to remember that. No lessons on the weekends – Saturday and Sunday. Those days are for him and his family. If he falls behind in his regular classes at school, the lessons stop, so you'd better help him keep up. No late nights. During the summer, or whenever he's on vacation from school, he's on vacation from your lessons as well. I won't have you wearing him out. Agreed?"  
  
The Asgard nodded, en mass. This was nothing they would object to. Besides, wearing the boy out was contrary to their agenda. He wouldn't be able to learn if he was tired. They'd already figured that out.  
  
"Agreed."  
  
"One more thing," Jack said. "You stop watching us – I mean SG-1, and you start watching him. If he's so damned important to you, then you can keep him safe. That doesn't mean I want little aliens in sunglasses and trench coats following him around, but it does mean if anything happens to him, I'll hold you all personally responsible."  
  
"But what about you, Jack?" Shawn asked. "I don't-"  
  
"Shawn," Jack interrupted. "We know the risks, and we have the training to handle whatever comes our way." Hopefully. "But that brings up another point. If something happens to us – SG-1, I mean – General Hammond is solely in charge of Shawn's future and the choices made." Jack looked over at Hammond, silently asking the older man if he accepted that responsibility. The General nodded.  
  
"We agree to all this."  
  
Jack nodded. It wasn't as if he was asking for all that much.  
  
"If you have a lesson that requires more than just his computer, you're welcome to use the SGC. Just let us know in advance, so we can make a room available."  
  
"Thank you, General Hammond."  
  
~*~  
  
Shawn was back in his room. Daniel and Teal'c had taken him back there almost as soon as the final discussions with the Asgard had been completed. The Asgard healing device had used his own energies to heal him, Thor had explained, so the boy needed a chance to rest and regain his strength.  
  
The Asgard were gone, as well, leaving Hammond, Sam and Jack all sitting around the briefing table, discussing the weekend's events over a pot of coffee. The door opened, and Daniel and Teal'c joined them, Daniel sitting next to Sam, Teal'c coming around to sit next to Jack.  
  
"He asleep?" Jack asked.  
  
"He fell asleep before we got him to the room." Daniel said, smiling and reaching for a cup and the coffee pot.  
  
"Indeed.  
  
"His parents are going to kill me." Jack said, leaning back into his chair.  
  
"He's got quite a collection of bruises," Sam agreed.  
  
"He's a boy," Hammond said, standing up. "They'll understand." He smiled. "I'm going to go home and get some sleep. I suggest you all do the same."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
They wouldn't leave, but they'd sleep. 


	21. 21

Hammond left, and the four of them sat around a while longer, not really talking about anything, but sitting and just being together. They'd had a rough weekend and Jack was well aware that he'd thoroughly chewed out Daniel only a short time ago. Yeah, he'd meant everything he said, and he wouldn't take it back, but he wanted to make sure things were okay between the two of them, and could only do that by spending some time with him.  
  
"Jack?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I'm a little confused." Obviously Daniel was thinking about the 'discussion' he and Jack had had about Shawn as well. "Why did you agree so readily to allow the Asgard to continue teaching Shawn, if you don't want them to be using him?"  
  
The others turned to look at him as well, and Jack took a sip of his coffee, more to give himself a minute to gather his thoughts so his answer would make sense.  
  
"Shawn's not mine to use anymore than he is the Asgard's." Jack told them. "I can't plan his destiny for him. No more than I was willing to allow the Asgard to. I can guide him. Nurture him as well as I can, and teach him how to grow up to be the best man he can be. But when it comes down to it, it's his choice. If I took that choice away from him and made the decisions for him, I'd be no better than the Asgard that had his future all planned out."  
  
He took another sip of his coffee, allowing them a moment to think that over, but when he saw that Daniel was going to say something, Jack held up a hand to stop him.  
  
"I'm not totally stupid, though, Daniel. As it is right now, the Asgard think I am in control, and I'll let them think that until he's a bit older. This will stop them from trying anything reckless – and it'll keep Shawn from doing anything too reckless as well. He's still a little boy, after all. And little boys make mistakes. Our job is to keep them mistakes from being fatal. And if they think I'm in charge, they'll think twice before allowing him to do something dumb. I'm pretty sure Thor thinks I'm way over protective when it comes to Shawn, but I'll let him think that. If that's what it takes."  
  
Oh, yeah. Like any of them believed that Jack wasn't way over protective when it came to Shawn.  
  
"He wants to help the Asgard," Sam said, smiling softly. "I still wonder what it is they want him to do for them."  
  
Jack shrugged.  
  
"Don't know. Thor wouldn't discuss it with me. Too personal."  
  
"You realize Shawn is going to join the Air Force, right?" Daniel asked. "There's no way the Asgard agenda will sway him from his own agenda."  
  
"He doesn't have an agenda, Daniel," Jack protested. "He's ten."  
  
"Oh, he's got one, Jack," Sam agreed, setting her coffee cup down and standing up. "He's told me a million times exactly what he's going to do with his life, and I'm pretty sure that even helping out the Asgard isn't going to stop him from achieving it. It'll probably just accelerate the process."  
  
"Yeah, well. I'm not going to force him into that, either. But if it's what he wants, then I'll help him wherever I can."  
  
"As will I." Teal'c agreed, standing up as well.  
  
"I'd say it's something we can all agree to," Daniel said.  
  
"I'm going to go cuddle up with Shawn and get some sleep," Carter told them, heading for the door. "It's too late to drive home."  
  
"I shall walk with you part of the way," Teal'c said, opening it for her.  
  
They both looked over at Daniel and Jack, neither of whom had moved out of their chairs.  
  
"You guys go ahead. I'm going to have another cup of coffee." Jack said, reaching for the pot.  
  
"Me too."  
  
The door closed, and Jack looked over at Daniel, holding the pot above his half empty cup, questioning.  
  
"Yeah, please."  
  
Jack poured the coffee, and settled back in his chair once more, nursing his own mug as he watched Daniel. Gleaming on his chest were his dog tags, but nestled next to them was the arrowhead necklace that Shawn had given him.  
  
"You were right, you know?" Daniel said, finally, breaking the silence of the room.  
  
"Yeah." There was no gloating in Jack's voice, although he wasn't always the right one when it came to confrontations with Daniel.  
  
"What's the next step with him?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"He's going to grow up to be like you, Jack. He's told me that more than once. What are you going to do about it?"  
  
"I thought I'd take him to a ball game next weekend. You want to come?"  
  
"How is that-"  
  
"If he's going to be like me, he might as well learn about baseball, Daniel."  
  
"Ah. Then yeah, I'd better come. If nothing else, I can help remind you that he doesn't need to learn all the swear words right away."  
  
Jack smiled, but gave Daniel a look that was beyond serious.  
  
"We're okay, right? You and me?"  
  
"We're fine, Jack. You were right, and I wasn't listening."  
  
"Yeah, well, next time I'll probably be right, too, you know?"  
  
"Um... yeah. We'll have to wait and see about that."  
  
Jack grinned, and drained his cup, then stood up. "I'm going to go get some sleep, Daniel. I suggest you do the same. You look beat."  
  
"Is that an order?"  
  
"Nah, but if you want, I'll write it in Goa'uld across your forehead."  
  
Daniel laughed, and Jack felt a lot better as he walked out the door and headed for one of the VIP rooms.  
  
Author's Note: Epilogue to follow! 


	22. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
The Gate flared and five figures emerged from the fluid-like surface. They all paused at the top of the stairs, looking around. The day was sunny and bright, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  
  
Colonel Jack O'Neill had come through the Gate carrying his P-90, even though he had no reason to assume he'd need it. It was always better safe than sorry. He looked around, his eyes automatically searching for danger, the Soldier taking over without him even realizing it.  
  
"Master Bra'tac!"  
  
The boy standing next to O'Neill launched himself at the form at the bottom of the stairs, and Jack watched as the normally stoic Jaffa warrior scooped the boy up into his arms and returned what was obviously an enthusiastic hug, but he couldn't hear whatever words were exchanged. He nudged Teal'c, who was standing next to him holding his staff weapon, and gestured to the wide field that was spread out before them.  
  
The field was large, and was obviously used for multiple purposes. Off a short ways into the distance was a pair of Goa'uld death gliders – sans the Goa'uld. The craft were sleek and deadly looking, even sitting quietly in the field. In front of them was a group of warriors, all sparring with each other, ignoring the newcomers until they were finished with their bouts. As each pair finished, they walked over, watching with welcoming smiles or gestures as SG-1 finally walked down the stairs to join Shawn and Bra'tac at the bottom.  
  
Teal'c greeted Bra'tac warmly, as did the others, all smiling at the older man.  
  
"O'Neill!"  
  
"Master Bra'tac," Jack greeted him as he shook hands. "How have you been?"  
  
"Every day we grow stronger," he said, gesturing to the group of assembled warriors. "As does our young friend, here. No?" Now he gestured to the boy that was standing beside him.  
  
Jack looked down at Shawn, unable to stop the proud smile. The boy was looking up at him, his face shining with pride at the compliment, and excitement. The thin white scar on his forehead was the only blemish on the smooth skin, and his brown eyes sparkled with good health and intelligence. Jack nodded.  
  
"He's doing well. I have him for the weekend, and school pictures are on Monday, so try not to let him pick up too many bruises, okay?"  
  
"He has improved a great deal since our first lesson," Bra'tac said, clapping the boy on his back with a proud gesture of his own. "There will be few bruises. He's growing into a fine warrior."  
  
"The gliders are ready?" Jack asked. They had an appointment, and while Bra'tac was at the top of a very short list of people that Jack felt comfortable leaving the boy with, he still wanted to get there and get back.  
  
"Indeed."  
  
O'Neill nodded and smiled down at the boy again.  
  
"All right, Shawn. I'll be back tomorrow. You be good, and do whatever Master Bra'tac tells you."  
  
"I will, Jack," Shawn said, excitedly. They didn't go off world all that often, but when they did it was always exciting for the boy. He loved his lessons with the Jaffa, who always treated him like one of their own. Which, in a way, he was.  
  
"He always does, O'Neill," Bra'tac confirmed.  
  
"If he knows what is good for him," Teal'c said in a growl. Shawn smiled up at the Jaffa, knowing Teal'c far too well to be intimidated by him or his deep gravelly voice.  
  
"If we're going to meet up with my dad, we'd better get going," Sam said. She smiled down at Shawn and ruffled his hair, an action he pretended to hate, although he secretly loved it. Which she knew.  
  
"Yeah," Daniel said. "I'm anxious to see these ruins the Tok'ra found."  
  
"Too bad there isn't a Gate there. It'd be a lot more convenient."  
  
"Okay, kids, let's go." Jack patted Bra'tac on the shoulder as he walked past the Jaffa. "Don't forget, school pictures!"  
  
The rest of SG-1 followed him, and separated into pairs as they approached the Death Gliders. Sam with Jack, Daniel with Teal'c. In the background, they could hear Bra'tac asking his youngest student what exactly a school picture was.  
  
~*~  
  
Author's note: Okay! That's the end of this story. Again (as always) I'd like to know what you liked the most, what you hated the most. I know this one didn't have a lot of humor in it, but I like to write serious stories, too. I'm not finished with Shawn, in case anyone is curious, but this part is finished! 


End file.
